My Sad Life
by Aria6
Summary: Axel is stuck in a trap and can't get out... so he brings someone else into it. Axel/Roxas, some non-con in future chapters. Enjoy and please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Thanks to Tekko for inspiring this fic! The opening is a little short but it will pick up shortly. :) This is inspired by Tekko's Don't Push Me/Back Off fics. Please read and review!

The bar was rocking tonight. Roxas grinned as he watched Sora trying, and failing, to impress Riku with his dancing skills. Of course, the fact that he was dancing with a girl had something to do with Riku's glower. But this wasn't the kind of bar where the guys danced with the guys unless they wanted to get hooted at. Still, it wasn't bad for picking up guys. No one cared who you talked to and it was the only bar in town. Roxas fetched up beside an impressive looking specimen at the bar, and glanced up into laughing green eyes and vividly red hair.

"Hey, you don't look old enough to be in here." The man immediately lost points in Roxas' mind. He'd heard that far, far too often. "Let me buy you a drink." Although that gained points. So far, Mr. Redhead was coming out even. "What would you like?"

"Some Molson would be fine." The redhead made a face, but shrugged and ordered it. "What, you don't like Molson?"

"No, they're shit. But I buy them on sale." Roxas blinked, then laughed. The redhead shrugged with a smile. "Everything is better on sale."

"Isn't that the truth? What's your name?" Roxas liked this guy already. The tattoos on his cheeks were incredibly striking, too. If he was gay then his night was made, and it was looking likely from the interest he was sensing.

"Axel. What's your name, sexy?" Definitely gay, or at least bi. Roxas smiled, drinking his beer.

"Roxas. I've never seen you here before, and I'm sure I'd remember. You come here often?" Axel shook his head, and Roxas caught an odd shadow in his eyes.

"Nah, never been here before." Axel glanced around thoughtfully. "It's okay, but I've seen better." Roxas couldn't object to that. This was a small town and the bar had a distinctly run down feeling. Although that was largely due to the owner and staff, who couldn't be bothered to clean anything but the worst spills. Axel pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with a quick flick of his lighter, and Roxas sighed to himself. He wasn't fond of cigarette smoke, although maybe in this case he'd make an exception. "Want a cigarette?"

"No thanks, I don't smoke. So, where are you from?" Roxas was curious about that. It was a small town and he could recognize almost everyone, but this redhead was a complete stranger. And a very obvious stranger, the kind you really couldn't overlook. Axel shrugged.

"I'm from here and there. I travel a lot, you know? Just bumming my way around. Got an inheritance so I don't have to work, although the terms on it are shit. C'est la vie." Axel blew a perfect smoke ring in the air. "What about you? You from around here?"

"I've lived here all my life. It's nice, but I'm looking forward to going to college soon. I'm just earning some money for it right now." Roxas didn't want to be in debt for years, even decades for his education and his family had no money. Sora was content to stay in a small town forever, but not Roxas.

He and Axel chatted for a while, and the time seemed to fly by as they discussed their interests and hobbies. They found that they both liked a lot of the same music, although Roxas had a fondness for Aqua that Axel didn't share, and Axel had an odd attachment to Yo-Yo Ma and World War II tunes. They both loved fantasy and science fiction and nature hikes. Roxas found himself wistfully wishing Axel would be staying, but why would a man like him stay in a small town like this?

"Want to come over to my place?" He heard the redhead say through an alcoholic haze. Roxas had downed enough beers that he was feeling no pain, although he wasn't falling down drunk.

"I'd love to." Roxas smiled at the thought. Smoker or not, Axel was incredibly sexy. Axel smiled, and they left the bar hand in hand. Axel's place turned out to be a nice room in the local motel, which made sense and suited Roxas just fine. As soon as they were inside, Axel pinned him to a wall and began to kiss him, hard and desperate. Roxas moaned, feeling a rush of desire that made him feel almost faint as the redhead pressed against him. "Axel. Mrf. The bed." As hot as Axel was making him feel, Roxas had never been a fan of sex standing up.

"Yeah." Axel's voice was a little breathless as he pulled the lithe blond with him to the bedroom, undoing shirt buttons with agile fingers along the way. He wanted Roxas, wanted to be inside him and making him writhe in pleasure. Pulling a small foil wrapped packet out of his back pocket, he set about making that dream a reality. "Damn, you're beautiful." Roxas was possibly the best thing Axel had ever seen, especially naked and kneeling on the bed in front of him. He had a wonderful ass, and Axel swallowed thickly as he probed the blonde's small entrance with one finger, then two, making him gasp and close his eyes in pleasure.

"You're not bad either." Roxas murmured, his voice drenched in desire. "Take me Axel." Axel tore open the packet, sliding on the condom before obeying Roxas' instruction. Axel pressed the head of his member against Roxas entrance, slowly going inside. Axel groaned in pleasure as the soft, velvet walls tightened around him.

"Roxas, god." Axel held still a moment, waiting for any pain to pass, then Roxas moaned and rolled his hips back. That was all the encouragement the redhead needed to begin thrusting into that warm, wonderful heat. Roxas met every thrust, deepening the penetration and moaning as Axel hit his prostate again and again. Axel reached under him to stroke him in time with the thrusts.

"Do I feel good, Axel?" Roxas asked, panting in pleasure. Axel laughed shakily as he pulled out and pounded back in, making the blond moan.

"Good? You feel great." Axel licked the delicate shell of his ear, before speaking again. "Wonderful. God… amazing…" Axel's breath speeded up and Roxas moaned as the pace increased. Axel could feel himself coming close to the edge and squeezed Roxas, stroking him faster. He could feel the blonde's throbbing erection in his hand and the wet, hot heat around him. It was so wonderful, feeling Roxas beneath him and in his hand. Roxas finally came in a rush of pleasure, tightening sharply around the redhead. Axel gasped and released a moment later, finding heaven between the blonde's thighs. Trembling a little with reaction, Axel pulled away, lying down beside the blond as Roxas slid down with a sigh.

For a time, they lay together, warm and content. Then Roxas stirred.

"Mmm… I really need to get home." Axel opened his eyes and Roxas smiled. It was sweet, how the redhead looked so disappointed. Roxas kissed him tenderly and sighed in pleasure as Axel returned the kiss. "If you ever come back here, look me up." Roxas wouldn't object to seeing him again at all. Axel smiled and it was captivating, enchanting.

"You bet I will." Axel watched the blond get dressed, green eyes sad yet warm.

The next morning, things were entirely normal. Roxas got himself a bowl of bran flakes with extra raisins and Sora got a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch. Roxas wrinkled his nose at the sugary stuff. In his mind, it made a very tasty dessert but wasn't suitable for breakfast.

"You know, I really wish you wouldn't do that." Roxas blinked at Sora. He couldn't be referring to the cinnamon toast crunch.

"Do what?" Roxas asked, confused, and Sora gave him a look.

"You know what. Picking up random guys and doing them." Roxas winced at that description of his behavior. While it was mostly true, it was still unkind. "What if you run into a complete psycho? Who was this last one, anyway? You do know his name?"

"Of course I know his name." Roxas snapped. "It was Axel, and he wasn't a psycho so lay off, okay? Besides, when did you become my mother?" Although their mother had no idea what Roxas was up to. Their father had died some time ago and she was working two jobs to pay the bills, despite the money Roxas gave her every month. Neither of her jobs paid much.

"I don't think mom even knows you're gay." Roxas blushed at that. It was too true. "When are you going to tell her anyway?"

"When you confess about Riku." Roxas retorted, stung, and had the satisfaction of seeing Sora blush. "So how's math class been going?"

"Mr. Kelsie still hates me." Sora said morosely, willing to change the subject. Roxas listened to his brother sympathetically as he ate, not thinking of Axel at all.

Roxas had no idea that a single night of drunken revelry would change his life forever.


	2. Kidnapped by a Hot Redhead

Axel looked out the window at the snow on the ground and thought. It was very early in the year for snow, just September, but he was high on the mountain. Unable to hold still, Axel left the window, idly walking through his home. It was large and luxurious but achingly empty. Too many of the rooms were coated in dust, and Axel sighed. He would have to try to clean that soon. Glancing around, he carefully checked the floors for any signs of dripping as he walked. He'd had problems with the roof before, and he'd learned his lesson the first time a leak had gone undetected for months. He didn't want to have to go through the ordeal of getting people out to repair it again, if he could help it. Axel was good with tools and as long as he kept on top of things most maintenance was a cinch.

Finishing his circuit, Axel found himself at the window again, looking out over the fall trees. The pine forest had a cold, forbidding beauty. It wasn't a forest to be taken lightly though. Anyone foolish enough to wander through it without proper preparations would certainly die, but Axel had lived here so long he felt like he was part of it. Although the wilderness would still kill him if it could. But it hadn't yet, despite a few good chances, and Axel was rather disappointed.

"Astrid." Axel said to himself, reminding himself of why that couldn't happen as he had no many times before. His sister was depending on him, despite the fact that they couldn't see each other except through a satellite link, and then only in the morning. He still had to stay strong for her. She didn't need to hear his problems, when her own were so terrible. But it wasn't enough. Axel could feel that, in the singing void in his heart. It just wasn't enough anymore, and that made him feel like a selfish bastard. How could he not care about his sister anymore? "I do care. I just need…" Axel closed his eyes in pain. It wasn't sex he craved, not exactly. It was simple human contact.

He was alone on this mountain, and he had been for years, except for the brief moments he could escape. He'd tried to hire people to live and work here, but it was a hopeless thing. No one stayed more than six months, and who could blame them? And half the time Axel hadn't even liked them. He'd done his best, trying to hire good people, but his best hadn't been good enough. He just couldn't bear to go through that painful process again.

Another option had occurred to him some time ago, but he'd kept shying away from it. To begin with, it was illegal and immoral. But distressingly, he thought it would be very easy for him to accomplish. He'd been taught by the best, after all. Oh yes, he knew exactly how to do it. He even had special tools, although he'd have to check to see if they still worked. But if he really decided to do that, the question was to who? Axel swallowed as he realized he was seriously considering it. How desperate was he? The answer seemed to be very.

There was only one person who came to mind. That gorgeous blond he'd met at the bar, Roxas. They had just seemed to click on so many levels. Of course, Roxas wouldn't be happy about it. Axel sighed. That was an understatement. Axel knew what to expect, really. He'd seen it before, although he'd never wanted to.

For a long time, Axel was torn. Could he really do this to someone? Then he suddenly realized that he'd been rubbing the windowsill with his fingers so hard that they were starting to bleed. Snatching his fingers away, he stared at the scraped tips. He hadn't even noticed.

"I have to do this." Axel said to thin air. "I don't want to, but I have to."

He needed someone to hold, to touch, and to just be with. Or he was going to break somehow, and soon. Axel could feel it. If it were only his own life on the line, he would have let it happen but it wasn't. Without him, his sister would surely die and he couldn't let that happen. Decided, he went to check the collars to see if they were still functional. If they were, he would begin his newest project.

Kidnapping Roxas.

* * *

Roxas was walking to the bar when he noticed a familiar man standing outside it, and stopped and stared. He hadn't expected to see Axel back so soon. The man was looking almost unbearably sexy, dressed in blue jeans and a black leather coat with red shoulders. Axel looked up with a smile and Roxas started moving again.

"Roxas! I was hoping I'd see you." Axel glanced around, noting that there was no one else outside the bar at the moment. Perfect. "I was wondering if you'd like to come to my room at the motel for a private party? I have a selection of beers I thought you might like to try."

"No Molson?" Roxas said teasingly, and Axel sighed.

"No Molson. I'm hoping to get you to branch out a little." Roxas grinned. Axel sounded a little pained at his favorite beer.

"Good luck with that. But sure, why not?" Roxas wasn't going to turn down free beer in the company of a truly handsome man. And he already knew Axel, he was sure the guy wasn't a psycho, no matter what Sora had to say. Axel took him through the back door of the motel, curiously, but Roxas shrugged it off. Maybe the guy had a wife somewhere. Or maybe just a meddling brother who had caught wind of his lifestyle. That made Roxas grin again.

"German beer?" Roxas picked up a bottle curiously. "I've never tried imports." They were too expensive, really.

"I like them but they're a touch on the expensive side." Roxas blinked as Axel echoed his thoughts. "They're stronger than our beer though." Axel easily opened the bottle and poured it into a glass. Roxas kept investigating the beers, quite curious.

"English pale ale… Kingfisher beer… Oregon Honey beer… fruit beer? Where did you get all of these?" The labels were really weird, in Roxas' opinion. Not only were they from all over the world, they were from all over the States as well. Axel shrugged.

"I ordered them from beergeek. It's great, has beers from almost everywhere." Roxas frowned, feeling a little disappointed. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just imagining you bumming around all of Europe and collecting this stuff." Axel looked startled for a moment, then laughed.

"Gods, I wish! No, I've never been out of the States. Actually, I've never been out of this state." For a moment Roxas caught a deep sadness in the redhead's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "But hey, we can taste the rest of the world right here. Let's get started."

The evening passed very pleasantly. Roxas rather liked the English pale ale, Axel liked the German beers and they both agreed the fruit beer was utter crap. They finally decided to pour it down the toilet.

"Hey, try this one." Roxas blinked a bit blearily as Axel poured him a new glass of beer. "It's an American microbrewery one."

"Oh?" Roxas tried it and blinked. "It's sort of bitter." He frowned, then blinked again as the beer seemed to go straight to his head. "Oh… Axel, I-I think that was too much." Roxas sagged as he felt strong arms go around him. The whole room was suddenly spinning.

"Sorry Roxas." Roxas blinked blearily at Axel, wondering what he was sorry for. But then everything went dark.

* * *

"Ohh." Roxas moaned softly as he slowly woke up. "My head." It felt like someone was banging on his skull from the inside out. Roxas tried to sit up, and blinked. "?!?" Glancing up, he went pale. He was lying on an unfamiliar bed and his wrists were tied very firmly to the bedposts. Looking down, he realized his ankles were as well. "Oh shit." Sweat beaded on his forehead as he suddenly remembered what Sora had said about psychos. But Axel had seemed so normal. He couldn't be crazy. Could he? Although… Roxas winced as he realized there was an overriding pressure going on down below. "HEY! I need bathroom here!" Roxas squirmed, but the ropes were tied very firmly. To his almost relief, he heard footsteps and the door opened.

"Hey." Roxas stared as he met Axel's gaze. Those bright green eyes were sad and a bit amused. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Sorry for the knockout drops, but I didn't think you'd come on a helicopter ride voluntarily." Axel sat down in a nearby chair as Roxas stared

"Helicopter…?" Roxas felt dizzy. Where was he? "Wha-what's going on? Why are you doing this?" Axel tilted his head to one side for a moment, thinking.

"Well, I've kidnapped you. That part should be obvious. The reason is, I need a companion. I've been alone for so long my sanity is starting to squeak, and I just can't afford to rip off all my clothes and go running out into the woods in the middle of winter, if you get my drift." Roxas just stared, confused, and Axel sighed. "Do you remember what I said about a trust fund?" Roxas dredged that conversation up out of his memory, and nodded cautiously. "Well, I wasn't kidding about the terms being crap. When my dad died, he left his money to me and my sister on the condition that one of us lives at this house most of the year. This place can only be vacant for two weeks out of the year or we violate the terms and lose the trust to my uncle." Axel pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a drag. Roxas had to suppress the desire to scream at him to explain what this had to do with him. "My sister is sick. She can't be here anymore. That leaves me. I've been stuck in this fucking cabin in the woods, alone, for three years Roxas. I can't take it anymore. That's why you're here."

"So you've kidnapped me to be your _companion?_ Are you insane? Why don't you just hire someone, if you're that rich?" Roxas demanded. Axel sighed, looking down.

"I'm not rich Roxas. A trust fund is like an allowance. Sure, I can buy all kinds of shit but how much would it take for you to come live in a cabin in the woods that's completely inaccessible except by helicopter?" Axel shook his head. "I could only pay maybe three thousand a month. It's not enough. The trust fund will give more money for things like tutors, but the expenses have to be approved and those people never stay for longer than three months anyway… fuck, I've already tried, okay? I don't want to go through all of it." Axel stubbed out his cigarette savagely, then took a deep breath. "I don't expect you to like this. But you can't get out of here until I let you. Did you notice the collar you're wearing?" Roxas blinked, suddenly realizing that there was a metal choker on his neck. Glancing down uneasily, he saw it had a small lock to hold it in place. "It's a variation of a pet collar. It will shock you if you get too far away from the house, and keep getting worse until you pass out."

"You… you sick bastard! You had this made for me?" Axel paused, and for a moment he looked so sad. But Roxas wasn't in a sympathetic mood, and just glared.

"No. I inherited it from my dad." Axel waved his hand, brushing it away. "Now, to let you know how hopeless escape is, let me go through the rest. There's no phone here and no cellular reception, even if I had a cell which I don't. My computer is triple password protected, you won't be able to log into it. If you try to hike back, you'll freeze to death. We're a two hour helicopter ride from anything, and you won't know which direction to go in. And that's supposing you somehow got past the collar, which wouldn't be easy. Now that I've explained that, can I untie you?"

"Yes." Roxas said, holding back his anger. He really didn't want to pee his pants. Axel pulled out a knife and easily sliced through the ropes. Roxas glared at him for a moment as Axel just calmly met his gaze. "Where's the bathroom?"

"This way, down the hall." Axel had him go first, not quite trusting Roxas not to attack him as soon as his back was turned. Which was, Roxas thought darkly, entirely reasonable. He wanted to knock Axel through a wall. Roxas wasn't buying this whole inheritance and isolation story just yet. It was far more likely Axel was just a pervert and planned to rape him. Roxas slammed the door behind him with more force than necessary and paused as he saw a window. He could use it to escape… unless Axel was telling the truth about the collar. And the helicopter.

Roxas swallowed as he stared out the window and realized with a jolt that Axel was certainly telling the truth about the helicopter. He could see it from where he was. It was a small two seater, meant for personal use, but it was definitely a private helicopter.

"You alive in there?" Roxas blinked at Axel's voice and shook his head, quickly taking care of business. Then he frowned as he realized how grubby he felt.

"Mind if I shower?" He called back. There was a pause before Axel spoke.

"Only if I can join you." Roxas started and glared at the door.

"No!" He snarled as Axel laughed.

"Consider it part of your duties as a companion." Roxas flinched back as Axel opened the door and stepped into the bathroom. Axel stepped forward smoothly and caught his fist easily as Roxas tried to hit him. "I hate to break this to you, Roxas, but I have two black belts." Eyes laughing, Axel smiled at him. "I'm guessing you have a white."

"Screw you! I got to green before I quit." Roxas said sullenly as Axel laughed. Then he suddenly tried to kick the redhead in the crotch, but Axel blocked the blow easily.

"Naughty. I thought you wanted a shower." Axel gestured to the bathtub and Roxas swallowed at the warm lust in his eyes. "Turn it on."

"…Fine." Roxas said through gritted teeth, turning on the water and taking a deep breath as he heard Axel's clothing rustling. Looking up, he saw the redhead was almost naked and just as gloriously handsome as the first day they met. Roxas felt a tug of desire but shoved it harshly aside. He didn't want this. Axel was looking at him, lifting his eyebrows questioningly.

"Aren't you going to get undressed?" Then his tone turned teasing. "I could help you." Roxas shook his head and quickly disrobed, stepping into the water. He desperately needed a shower, even with his unwanted attendant.

Axel started slowly, gently rubbing Roxas back and ignoring the blonde's disgust. It felt so good, just having someone to touch. Axel smiled as Roxas glanced around, and passed him the shampoo. Roxas said nothing but began washing his hair. Axel's smile widened as he saw the wait the shampoo turned the blond spikes into a mess of hair.

Axel waited until the shampoo was washed away to make his move, sliding his arms around Roxas and nipping the soft skin of his neck. The blond growled and squirmed, trying to break free, but Axel was very much the stronger. Soon he had Roxas trapped in a corner, the water sliding over them both.

"Axel, please stop." Roxas sounded almost ready to cry, and Axel paused, guilt twisting in his guts. But then he ran his hand over Roxas' member, finding he was already half erect. Roxas gasped as his warm hand encircled his erection, giving him a squeeze. "Stop!"

"Your mouth says no, but this says yes." Axel murmured, teasing the tip of his cock with his fingers. "Come on Roxas, don't be shy. We've already been together, and it was good." Roxas moaned heavily as Axel's wet fingers slowly slid over sensitive skin, tracing the inside of his thighs. He couldn't deny it felt good, but it was not what he wanted. Axel was reaching behind him, slowly stretching him out, and it felt just like the first time they were together.

"Ugh…" Roxas gasped as Axel lifted him up, gripping his bottom and positioning him. He didn't really like sex standing up, but Axel was supporting his full weight now and didn't even seem to feel the strain. "How… how strong are you?" Roxas managed to say, then groaned as Axel began to press inside.

"Pretty strong." Axel's breathing was a bit ragged now as he began to slowly thrust into the sexy blond he was holding up. "Ah… not much to do here, y'know…" Roxas gripped Axel's shoulders tightly as the redhead brushed against his prostate, sending a jolt of pleasure spiking through him. The friction against his cock, combined with the powerful thrusts, was bringing him right to the edge. But it was _not_ what he wanted, and Roxas wept as he released. Axel came with a low cry, and for a moment he just held Roxas before slowly setting him back onto his feet. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" Axel murmured, gently stroking Roxas' hair out of his face. The blond shivered and suddenly glared at him.

"Yes it was that bad. Because I'm trapped here and I don't have a choice!" He spat out at the redhead, and Axel looked stunned for a moment. Roxas thought he saw a flash of hurt in those green eyes, but it quickly changed to sadness.

"Yeah." Axel said softly, looking down into Roxas' big blue eyes. "I… I guess this makes me a rapist, huh." Roxas just glowered. It was the truth. Axel sighed, looking down. "Funny how it all works out. I'm sorry Roxas. C'mon, lets go get some breakfast." Axel couldn't help but feel like crap now, but it didn't really matter. He didn't have any choice, anymore than Roxas did.

It was funny how it all worked out.


	3. Suspicions, Truths and Lies

Roxas stared at his plate of food blankly. Axel had done the cooking, and he seemed to be effortlessly good at it. His over easy egg was perfectly done, the bacon was just right, crispy but not burnt and the hash browns smelled great. And Roxas was finding it difficult to muster up any interest in any of it. _I want to go home. I want to be with Sora._ Roxas had to hold back an immense surge of homesickness. He desperately wanted bran flakes and his brother's friendly smile.

"Hey, try it, it's good." Axel poked his plate, tilting his head slightly as Roxas looked at him dully. "Roxas?"

"…Yeah." Roxas picked up his fork with a sigh, and tried the egg. It really was very good, and he found his appetite returning as he ate. "You're a good cook."

"Yeah, I know." Axel smiled. "I started learning a long time ago. I've always wished I could be a chef."

"Why can't you?" Roxas looked up from his plate. "If you don't like the terms of your trust fund, why don't you just leave?" Being a chef wasn't something that required degrees, really. And Axel couldn't get a degree while he was tied to the house anyway, unless he did it online. Axel paused a moment before eating another piece of bacon.

"I was going to." He said quietly. "We were going to. We had plans. Astrid loved making and decorating cakes. We were both going to get jobs as line cooks and then try to start a bakery, one of the ones that makes really fancy cakes. I was good at decorating them too. Then she got sick and it was over." Axel shrugged, as if it didn't matter, and returned to his breakfast. They ate in silence for a while.

"What's wrong with her?" Roxas finally asked.

"Bone cancer." Axel replied, and Roxas winced. He didn't know much about cancer but he knew that was bad. "The treatments are expensive. The trust fund pays for everything as long as I don't violate the terms of the trust, but if I do…" Axel shrugged again, and Roxas swallowed. It all made a horrible kind of sense. But still…

"That doesn't give you the right to kidnap me." He muttered, and Axel smiled, amused.

"No, it's just a reason. I know it was the wrong thing to do, but don't worry, it won't last forever." Roxas looked up and Axel blinked as he caught the sudden fear in the blonde's face. "Not like that! I mean, wh-if Astrid dies, then I'll take you back to your family." Roxas caught the correction. Axel had been about to say _when_ rather than _if._ But Roxas couldn't ask him about that. He could imagine how he would feel if Sora was dying.

"Aren't you worried about the police?" He asked instead. Axel shook his head with a small half-smile.

"Nah. Not worried about the police at all." Axel seemed to think it was a funny question, and Roxas frowned at him.

"You're that sure they wouldn't catch you?" He couldn't keep the skepticism out of his voice. Axel shook his head.

"No, just confident it wouldn't matter." Before Roxas could ask what he meant by that, Axel stood up. "I was thinking I should show you around. This is a pretty big house and I have a lot of neat stuff. There are also a few places you shouldn't go." Roxas frowned, wondering what those would be and followed Axel. He was a bit curious now.

Axel quickly showed him through the house, and he was right, there was quite a bit of neat stuff. An exercise room with plenty of equipment, a wide screen TV with three different gaming systems, a nice sound system, a library… and plenty of unused rooms. One of them had a pool table, which interested Roxas although it was obvious from the dust that Axel didn't play. Or maybe he just didn't like to play by himself. If that was the case, maybe Roxas would be able to interest him in a game. Roxas suddenly grimaced to himself as he realized he was thinking about this as if he had accepted staying. Although what else could he do? Although he would have to test the collar to see if Axel was bluffing about the shocks. Roxas doubted it, but he had to try.

"Now this is the first place you shouldn't go." Axel's voice caught Roxas' wandering attention and he frowned at the door Axel was pointing out. "This leads to the basement. It's got a serious eight legged infestation. Dad even called in an exterminator once, but they couldn't get rid of the spiders. Fortunately, you don't see them much in the rest of the house." Roxas shuddered at the thought, but then frowned. Axel could be lying to him. Still, he wasn't sure he wanted to check to be sure. They went through the kitchen then up to the second floor, which was largely bedrooms and several bathrooms. "Now this is the second place you shouldn't go… the attic. Dad's stuff is up there." Axel paused, then shrugged. "Well, you could check it out if you don't creep out easily. I don't care, but I figured I should warn you."

"Huh?" Roxas blinked at that, and frowned. "Why, was your dad a Halloween fanatic? Is it a haunted house up there?" Axel laughed mirthlessly.

"I wish. No, it's something else." Axel's tone indicated he didn't want to discuss it anymore. "Now. Clothing for you is going to be a bit of a problem, but I think my sisters' clothes will fit you. You're about the same size." Axel led him back to one of the bedrooms as Roxas felt vaguely offended. His sisters' clothes? "Don't worry, she never wore dresses or skirts except-uh, when dad made her." Roxas blinked and eyed Axel curiously. He had the feeling Axel was glossing over something.

The clothing, though, really did almost fit. Roxas had to roll up the cuffs a little bit, Axel's sister was clearly taller but she must have been just as slender. A lot of the clothing tended towards flannel, though.

"Your sister had a lumberjack fetish?" Roxas asked sourly, and was surprised when Axel laughed uproariously. He hadn't thought it was that funny, but Axel was almost crying.

"Oh god. That was a good one." Axel rubbed his eyes, smiling. "Sorry, it's just, um, an inside joke. Once she said I looked great in a flannel shirt, chopping wood, all sweaty and sexy." Roxas blinked at that. It sounded like an odd thing for a sister to say, but how would he know? He didn't have any sisters. "Anyway, yeah, she does like flannel." Axel smiled. "It's warm at least. I can try to order you some things online in your size, if you want."

"That might be nice." Roxas said neutrally. He didn't like ordering clothing online, it hardly ever seemed to fit. But it would be worth a shot. Axel just watched as he rolled up the cuffs of his pants.

"You're taking this fairly well. I was afraid you'd be a weeper or a screamer." Roxas suddenly paused, frowning. That almost sounded like Axel had experience with this sort of thing.

"You haven't kidnapped anyone else, have you?" Roxas asked, uneasy. Axel blinked and shook his head.

"Oh no. Just, um, watched a lot of movies, you know?" Axel said innocently, and Roxas had the distinct feeling he was lying. And that was unnerving on all kinds of levels. Could he trust Axel at all? He'd already been completely wrong about the redhead once. "So, want to play some video games?"

"I'd rather get a book and read for a while, if that's okay with you." Roxas wanted to do something relaxing, preferably as far from Axel as possible. Axel nodded.

"Sure. Why don't we read together in the living room?" Roxas sighed to himself, resigning himself to the redhead's presence. He wasn't going to be able to shake Axel without being completely rude, and he didn't want to piss off the redhead too much. Roxas wasn't sure how much of a temper Axel had.

The book room had plenty of science fiction and fantasy, but as he explored Roxas found a lot more than that. There was hard science, romance, and detective novels. Also quite a bit of philosophy and current affairs, although most of the latter was sadly out of date. And on one of the shelves were tons of magazines. Roxas pulled one out and blushed. It was hard core pornography.

"Um, yeah. That bookshelf is my dad's old stuff." Axel said apologetically behind him, almost making Roxas jump out of his skin. He hadn't realized Axel was behind him. "I've considered burning it, but there's actually some halfway decent stuff in there if you're desperate."

"Too much information, Axel." Roxas said firmly, putting the magazine back. "Your dad sounds like a freak."

"You have no idea." Roxas looked over at the redhead, a bit startled by the bitterness in his voice. For a moment he caught a look of cold hatred on Axel's face, and swallowed hard. Then Axel blinked, managing a smile. "Nothing to worry about, he's dead and gone. Although the terms of his will are still around, so feel free to curse him if you want."

"I'd rather curse you. You're the one who dragged me into this." Roxas said dryly as Axel pretended to be hurt. The grin tugging his lips up was ruining the effect.

"Guilty as charged. Here, try this?" Axel offered him a book, and Roxas tilted his head to one side, taking it and reading the cover.

"Rats, Bats and Vats." He looked at the cover art dubiously before catching the author. "Eric Flint?" That suddenly made the book interesting. He'd mentioned liking one of his series to Axel at the bar, but he'd never read this book.

"Yeah. It's one of his earlier ones, I think. But anyway, it's really good and there's a sequel that's even better in my opinion. They're both hilarious." That sounded very good to Roxas. He wanted something to distract him from the reality of his situation, and Eric Flint was exactly the right speed for that. Soon they were both ensconced in two large, comfortable chairs in the living room. Roxas looked up from his reading and blinked as he saw Axel.

"You're going to destroy your back that way." Axel's way of reading looked horrible. He had a leg slung over the arm of his chair and was gradually turning, until he was partially flopping over the other armrest. Axel looked up with a blink.

"My back? Oh. Hmm." Axel straightened and tried to read properly for a moment, but ended up slinging his leg over the arm again. Roxas gave up, turning back to his book. It was peculiar but almost endearing.

_Nothing about him is endearing._ Roxas told himself firmly. _I don't want to be a prime example of Stockholm syndrome!_ He was vaguely aware it might be hard with Axel, though. He had a genuinely touching story if it was true. But that was the question. How could he be sure anything Axel was telling him was the truth? Suddenly a thought occurred to him, and he frowned.

"Axel?" Axel looked up from his book curiously. "If you don't have a phone, how do you keep in touch with your sister?"

"Webcam." Axel answered promptly. "I have satellite internet, although the reception can suck sometimes, especially when the weather is bad. I talk to her every morning I can." Roxas nodded. That made sense.

"Do you record your talks?" Axel frowned slightly and nodded, clearly wondering why Roxas was asking. "Could I see one? I mean… well, I'm sorry, but I don't necessarily believe your story."

"Oh!" Axel looked a little relieved. He could understand how Roxas felt. "Sure. But the files are on my computer. You'll have to stay where I can see you." Roxas hesitated, trying to figure that out. Then he understood. Axel would have to be logged into his computer to access the files, and it had full access to the internet. If Roxas could somehow knock him out then, he would be able to send a message for help. It was like Axel thought of everything. Or… he'd done this before. Roxas felt a chill as he remembered the feeling he'd had earlier, that Axel was lying.

"That's fine." Roxas set down his book, and Axel shrugged, standing. Axel had shown him the computer room on his tour of the house. It was a small room with a TV in the corner and most of the space taken up by a nice desk and a very impressive computer.

"OK, you stand right there." Axel pointed to his front and right. "Don't try anything." Roxas obediently took the spot, silently trying to decide how much of a chance he would have to knock Axel out and grab the computer. Unfortunately, his mental calculator thought his chances were terrible. Axel was too alert. Axel quickly logged in, and Roxas tried to catch the passwords but found it was impossible. "Okay." Axel stood up, standing behind the chair. "Take a seat." Roxas hesitated, but took the chair. Axel reached over his shoulder and hit the enter key and a video began.

"Axel!" Roxas stared at the girl in the video. She had very short, spiky red hair and eyes of sea green. She was a touch taller than him, like he'd expected from her clothes, but he hadn't expected the sweet pixy-like beauty he was seeing in the screen. Or the terribly wasted appearance and the pain lines that were too deeply etched into her face to disappear even when she smiled. "How have you been?"

The conversation was one sided, since the video hadn't captured Axel's responses. But it had captured his sister's warmth. A few times, Roxas would almost have thought Astrid was flirting with Axel. He wondered if he was imagining it. But the video ended, and Axel drew a deep breath.

"So. Willing to believe I have a sick sister now?" Axel asked teasingly, and Roxas nodded.

"Okay, I believe you about your sister." The blonde said. Then he added, "although I'll have to see the will first before I believe you about your trust fund." Axel stared at him, astonished, then laughed.

"Roxas! You are the most suspicious guy I've ever met." Axel had expected some suspicion, but not that much. He wasn't sure if he was amused or appalled. "Well." Axel locked up the computer again, as Roxas stared at it glumly. He'd been just a click or two away from help. "C'mon, lets go read."

"Yeah." Roxas rose from the computer with a small sigh. He wasn't sure how he'd get out of this, but he would think of a way.

He wanted to see Sora again.


	4. The Basement

"_This is our tree. There are many trees like it, but this is ours." The two teenagers were perched in a big oak tree, sitting on one of the branches. It would have been a perfect branch to hang a swing from, but no one had cared when they were younger and now that they could do it themselves, they no longer wanted one._

"_Silly goose." Axel smiled as he felt a warm hand on his elbow and smiled at his sister. Sea green eyes met bright, grass green and he felt an undeniable spark. She was so beautiful. "Is that a quote from a book?"_

"_No, a video game." She laughed as he grinned. "It's true though. This is our tree, no one can take away our tree."_

"_Nature can. It could get hit by lightning tomorrow." She pointed out, and Axel made a face._

"_You're spoiling the romance." He smiled as she laughed. He loved hearing her laugh, it was a beautiful sound. "I was thinking though. Could we get any rope? Heavy duty stuff?"_

"_Rope?" She looked at him thoughtfully, and didn't seem surprised at the question. "I don't know. Probably not. Why?" Axel looked down at the branch beneath them, and shrugged._

"_Oh, just an idea of mine." He stared off into the woods for a moment. "I just thought that this would be the perfect branch to hang ourselves from. We could hold hands and jump off together. You know?"_

"_Sounds romantic." There was no shock or surprise in her voice. But then, why should there be? They had discussed committing suicide together plenty of times. They just hadn't quite found the will to do it. "I'm not sure about the rope though. We'll have to keep a lookout for some good stuff, we want something that will break our necks cleanly. I read that it can take up to a half hour to die from a botched hanging." Axel winced at the thought. He'd been strangled often enough to know that he absolutely didn't want that._

"_We need to get supper started soon." Axel sighed and started climbing back out of the tree. "What were we making again?"_

"_Chicken and noodles with cupcakes for dessert." Astrid didn't sound enthusiastic and Axel knew why. Supper was their most hated meal of the day, because as soon as supper was over their other duties would begin. Axel shoved that thought aside, concentrating fiercely on the moment._

_It was all they could do._

* * *

Axel shifted, cuddling up to Roxas a bit in his sleep. The blond sighed but didn't waken and Axel slid smoothly into a different dream of the past.

* * *

"_What are you doing?" Axel asked his sister curiously as she carefully worked her spade around a wildflower, freeing it from the soil without damaging it._

"_Collecting a flower." She frowned in concentration as she pulled out the plug of earth and carefully deposited it into a pot. "There."_

"_Well, duh. I mean, why are you collecting wildflowers?" She glanced up at him, and Axel was captivated by her beauty all over again. She looked so lovely, wearing a straw hat with a pretty floral bow over her white, sleeveless shirt and blue jeans._

"_I'm going to plant them at the elephant's graveyard." She said with a small smile. "I think I figured out what I did wrong last time. I picked flowers that needed too much shade, it's very sunny there. Hopefully these will do better." Axel stared at the flowers, feeling ashamed. He hadn't thought to do anything like that. Although…_

"_The elephants won't care, Astrid." She paused in her work to look up at him, sea green eyes sad._

"_I care." And she went back to her digging as Axel swallowed._

"_Uh… would you like some help?" She looked up again and her smile was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud._

"_I would love it." Axel smiled back and went to fetch another spade. It might be silly and the elephants certainly wouldn't care, but it was still a touching gesture. He would do it for Astrid._

* * *

Axel woke up early and just watched Roxas he slept. The blond was just as beautiful as his sister. He wondered vaguely if he had picked Roxas because he was almost the same size as Astrid and had much the same delicate beauty. Although he probably shouldn't mention that to his blond captive. Roxas was a guy, and probably wouldn't appreciate being told he looked a bit like a girl, no matter how true it was. Axel smiled at the thought and nuzzled the blonde's throat. Roxas sighed and shifted, his eyelids fluttering open.

"Axel…" Roxas squirmed slightly as Axel slid an arm over his chest. They hadn't done anything last night except sleep, but Axel was clearly in a different mood now. Roxas gritted his teeth as a warm, calloused hand slid under the blankets to stroke him. He would have been lying if he'd said it didn't feel good. "Can you use a condom this time?" The stroking suddenly stopped, which was actually rather disappointing. Roxas glanced up to see a shocked expression on Axel's face.

"Oh… shit! I forgot!" Axel was mentally cursing himself. He'd never taken someone to the house before, and it had broken the usual routine in his mind. "You don't have anything, do you?" Roxas eyes widened and he growled, punching the redhead in the chest.

"I should be asking you that! No, I don't have anything, do you?" Axel shook his head.

"I shouldn't. I get tested once a year just in case, and the last one was last month." Axel paused as he realized Roxas had gone completely soft under his hand. "I just killed the romance, didn't I?" Roxas blinked, then shook his head with a small smile.

"This isn't romance. But whatever it is, yeah, you killed it." Roxas pulled away, hopping out of bed and feeling somewhere between grateful and disappointed when Axel didn't press it further. Roxas sighed at himself. It was a bit annoying that he felt that disappointment, but he just couldn't help it. Axel was so hot and, despite kidnapping him, so… nice.

Axel was in the middle of making breakfast when there was a strident peeping sound from the computer room. Roxas almost dropped his book as Axel cursed, quickly removing the omelet from the heat.

"She's early! Here Roxas, you finish this, it doesn't need much more." Axel shot out of the kitchen as Roxas grabbed frying pan. She? Oh, of course, Axel's sister. Roxas smiled as a plan suddenly formed. But would Axel allow it? That was the question.

He had finished eating and been reading for nearly a half hour before Axel came back into the room. The redhead was smiling and dug into his food, although it was cold by now. Roxas glanced up curiously, wondering if Axel would say anything, and he did.

"She's having a good day today. Maybe that bone marrow transplant is helping." Axel took a deep drink of his coffee and grimaced. "Argh, cold." He stood, taking it to the microwave to reheat. Cold eggs he didn't mind, but cold coffee was too much.

"I thought bone marrow transplants were for leukemia." Roxas was a bit fuzzy on the details, but he wasn't sure that was the usual treatment for bone cancer.

"Got me. I've tried to read up on it, but I don't understand what they're doing anymore. I think it's just to boost up her immune system. The radiation and chemotherapy has been doing a number on her." Axel came back with a piping cup of hot coffee, but his mood was more somber. "I'd give anything to be able to take her place. Poor Astrid has been through hell with this."

"I can imagine." And he could. If Sora had been in that state, Roxas would have wanted to take his place too. "Axel, could I talk to your sister sometime?" Axel looked up from his coffee with laughing eyes.

"Roxas, I'm ignorant, not stupid." Roxas jaw sagged open as Axel grinned. "One yell from you over the webcam and I'd be toast. Those damn nurses are listening all the time, and I'd really hate to have to explain this to my sister."

"I wasn't going to!" Roxas protested, inwardly cursing the redhead. How did Axel always know? Axel just laughed. "Oh… fine, I was going to. How the hell did you think that?" Axel shrugged good-naturedly.

"Easy. Me and Astrid almost got into trouble with the nurses last year over something we shouldn't have said, so it wasn't hard to think of." There was a sudden sadness in Axel's eyes, but he shook his head and went back to his food. "Hey, want to play some DDR?" Roxas couldn't help but smile. That was one of Sora's favorite games.

"Sure, why not." It would be good to do something besides read. Roxas was going to have to see how far the collar would let him reach soon.

Things settled into an odd kind of routine over the next few days. Axel relaxed a bit and was far less clingy, often spending time doing things on his computer or doing work on the house as Roxas read a book. The rest of the time they spent together, often just talking or playing video games. And having sex together every night, although Axel never forgot the condoms now, to Roxas' relief.

"This would be perfect if only he was my boyfriend at home." Roxas mumbled to himself as he walked through the house aimlessly, then blinked. Had he really just said that? Of course he was attracted to the redhead but did he actually want him as a boyfriend? "He kidnapped and raped me!" Roxas bit his lip. It didn't really feel like rape, though. There was nothing painful about what Axel was doing and Roxas was relatively certain that if he put up enough of a fuss, Axel would probably stop. It was more… coerced, since Roxas didn't want to really piss Axel off. He wasn't sure if Axel could become violent, but didn't want to find out. He felt helpless compared to the redhead. "Ugh." Roxas wasn't even sure he could trust Axel. He still hadn't checked out the basement or the attic.

Maybe now was the time. Axel was in the computer room, doing something that seemed to involve talking to other people with a mic and speakers. Roxas couldn't understand it. What did SS the priest mean? Not to mention heal the tank and chakking noob. Roxas walked purposefully to the basement door and opened it, pausing for a moment to find the light switch. Frowning, he looked the bulb hanging from the ceiling and down at the dark, narrow steps leading into the basement. Walking down the steps, he looked around. The basement was unfinished, with walls of concrete and a cold, concrete floor. There were no furnishings, no boxes, nothing. Just an electrical breaker panel. And not a single spider. Roxas frowned as he heard the door slam shut behind him.

"What in the world?" Roxas felt all his doubts surging back. Had Axel been lying to him? Then he saw a spider. It was pulling itself up a strand of silk to the ceiling. Suddenly filled with a distant horror, Roxas' gaze followed the spider up to the ceiling.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Roxas screamed as he saw not just one spider, not just a few spiders, but a _swarm_ of spiders on the ceiling. It was a churning black mass that made him think of a horror movie. And more of them were dropping. "NO!" Running out of the room, his arm caught on the light hanging above the stairs as he swung at a spider trying to land on him. The light smashed to pieces and Roxas realized with terror that he was trapped in the basement, in the dark, with about a million spiders. "Axel! AXEL!" He screamed and clawed at the door, trying to open it. But it seemed to be stuck. Suddenly it opened and Roxas fell out, sobbing with relief.

"Roxas, what-woah!" Axel was startled as Roxas burst into tears, clinging to him. Axel quickly brushed a spider out of the blonde's hair and held him close, patting his back. "Hey, it's okay. They're just harmless spiders. It's okay." Roxas shivered, eyes tightly closed as Axel concentrated on soothing him.

"I'm… sorry. I didn't mean to freak out that way." Roxas pulled back, wiping his eyes. "It's just, when you said spiders, I though there might be a few dozen. Not something out of _Arachnophobia._ Axel, what would you do if they came into the rest of the house?" Axel shuddered.

"Besides weep in a manly way? I have no idea. Please, don't mention it, you might give the spiders ideas." That really was a nightmare scenario. Axel didn't mind a few spiders, he was almost fond of them, but he didn't want the swarm getting out of the basement. Fortunately, he'd checked and they really were completely harmless, nothing venomous like black widows or brown recluses. "There must be some kind of food supply in the basement, but I haven't been able to figure out what it is. Want some tea?" Tea was Axel's choice as a calming agent, and right now Roxas needed some calm. Roxas sniffed and nodded.

"Please." Soon Roxas was sitting in the kitchen, nursing a mug of chamomile tea as Axel drank a mug of earl grey. "Axel? What do you do if one of the breakers goes off?" The electrical breaker panel was in the basement. Axel winced.

"I cry a lot, suck my thumb then get on a heavy duty raincoat and take care of business as fast as possible. You'd be amazed how quickly I can get those breakers fixed." Axel shuddered again and took a deep drink of his tea. Roxas blinked as he suddenly realized something.

"Axel, what about your game?" He knew he had interrupted it, and Axel had been playing with other people. Axel laughed, then shrugged.

"Not important. The priest really sucked anyway. They'll boot me and find another dps." Roxas decided not to ask. He wasn't allowed on the computer anyway, so he couldn't play whatever Axel was on. Another question had occurred to him.

"Axel, the stuff in the attic. Is it as bad as the basement?" Roxas had planned to check that out as soon as he was done with the basement, but now he wasn't too sure about that. Axel had been completely truthful about the basement. Did he really want to see what was in the attic? Axel paused, eyes thoughtful as he looked away into space.

"If you're not very sensitive, it's not as bad." He finally said. "If you are sensitive, you might lose your lunch. It's up to you." Axel shook his head. "I'd really rather not talk about it." Something in his tone kept Roxas from pressing the matter, and the conversation turned to something less serious. But Roxas had a feeling he would eventually have to check out the attic. He wanted to understand Axel's life, and he was sure the attic had a lot of clues.

No matter how disturbing it might be.


	5. The Movies

"Hey Roxas! Want to go on a hike?" Axel plopped down on the sofa beside him, lying down and putting his head in Roxas' lap. Roxas couldn't help but smile as he pushed the grinning redhead away.

"What do you mean? The collar won't let me go that far." He couldn't keep an edge of resentment out of that. He'd tested the collar, and it had been very painful but he'd established that he couldn't even reach the trees before it shocked him.

"I can turn it off." Axel said and Roxas blinked. "For a set amount of time, like say eight hours. That way we won't have to worry about running out of time but you won't be tempted to take off into the woods. Which wouldn't be a good idea, since you'd probably starve or get eaten by a bear, but I don't want to tempt you." Axel doubted Roxas really understood how wild the wilderness was here. He gave the blond a zero percent chance of managing to hike out to civilization, but Roxas might have a higher estimate.

"Oh. That sounds good." Roxas glanced out the window thoughtfully. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground but it wasn't terribly cold out. Still. "Did you sister have a coat I could wear?"

"Yup!" Axel jumped up to go get it, pleased. Soon he came back with a coat that made Roxas blink.

"Axel, is that real fur?" Roxas frowned, running his hand over the glorious trim. It looked real. Axel nodded.

"Yeah, beaver with fox trim. Gorgeous, isn't it?" Roxas shrugged on the coat.

"It's nice." Roxas had to admit that it felt just as good as it looked. He was sure it must have been hideously expensive. Axel was pulling on a similar coat, but in a more masculine style. "But don't let the anti-fur people catch you or you're going to be spray painted."

"Do they really do that?" Axel sounded amused by the prospect. "I'd just buy another, although that would be my allowance for the month. This stupid trust fund has a few advantages." Roxas blinked as he realized that meant the coats must have cost about three thousand dollars each, since Axel had already admitted that was what he got a month.

"You're nuts, Axel, spending that much on a coat." But he wasn't going to say no to the cozy warmth the beaver and fox fur provided. Axel just shrugged with a smile as they left the house.

Roxas was a touch surprised at how glad he was to finally get outside. He had been using the exercise room, and Axel made it a habit to exercise at the same time, but it wasn't the same as a good nature hike. Axel led the way up a steep trail, and soon Roxas was feeling the hike in his legs.

"There's a good lookout spot at the top of this." Axel explained. "And a tree with a great view." Roxas blinked, wondering how a tree could have a good view, but decided not to ask.

It took them several hours to reach the end of the trail, and Roxas wondered how far they had come. It felt like most of it had been straight up. Fortunately, they were both in shape and Axel had brought a water bottle, but he still wanted to rest. Roxas blinked and stared at the view. It really was a tremendous view of the forest, and he swallowed. Axel hadn't been kidding about this being the middle of nowhere. He couldn't see any roads, any other cabins, anything that hinted at civilization at all. Just endless, beautiful forest.

"Here's our tree." Roxas blinked as he saw Axel hugging a tree, and grinned. He'd never pictured Axel as a tree hugger. "There are many trees like it but this tree is ours." Axel started easily climbing up the tree, and Roxas frowned. He wasn't sure he could do that. "Want a hand up?"

"Please." Axel reached down, helping him up and soon they were both sitting on a wide, comfortable branch. The tree was huge and felt solid as a rock. "I wonder. How old is this tree?" It looked ancient. Axel shrugged.

"Got me. All I know is that it has a perfect branch." Axel patted the branch fondly. "Astrid and I came here all the time. This was our special place." Roxas smiled, feeling almost flattered that Axel would bring him here. "It would be a perfect branch to hang myself from." That immediately killed the feeling and Roxas gave the redhead a horrified look. Axel seemed unaware he'd said anything wrong, just looking out over the view and smiling.

"Axel, don't joke about that!" Roxas snapped, feeling a strange fear in his heart. Was Axel serious? The redhead blinked at him, green eyes soft and surprised.

"Oh, sorry." Axel was silent for a moment as Roxas watched him anxiously. The redhead seemed sad now. "I forgot you weren't Astrid, for a moment there."

"You talked to your twin about committing suicide?" Roxas frowned. He'd gotten more details about Astrid out of Axel, and knew she was his twin sister and was a very sweet, gentle girl. This didn't seem to go with the picture Axel had painted of her. Axel smiled, amused at some internal joke.

"You have no idea what we've shared, Roxas." Before Roxas could ask what that meant, Axel turned the conversation around. "Did you and Sora have a special place too?" Axel had been fascinated to find out that Roxas had a twin too. It was like some strange kind of fate. Although if it was really fate, then Roxas' twin would have some incurable disease too, and Axel would never wish that on him.

"Yes." Roxas admitted. "There was a cave down by the river." Roxas found himself telling Axel all about Sora. The way Sora could make him feel, the way they played down by the river, the way they depended on each other for everything when their mother worked all the time to make ends meet. "I miss him so much." Roxas said, rubbing his face, and stiffened for a moment as warm arms went around him. Then he relaxed, letting Axel hold him.

"Oh Roxas, I'm sorry." The redhead murmured, feeling guilt twisting his guts again. It was worse because Roxas was a twin too. He'd had Astrid ripped away from him by her illness and it had felt like the light in his life was suddenly gone. "You'll see him again, I promise."

"When?" Roxas mumbled, closing his eyes and accepting the comfort. He wasn't expecting an answer.

"…Within a year." Roxas blinked, looking up and meeting Axel's sad eyes. He swallowed as he realized what Axel meant. Axel didn't think Astrid could live another year. Was that just his own feeling, or what the doctors were saying? Roxas shook his head, not wanting to ask, and hugged Axel himself. He couldn't have said how long they stayed together that way, but finally Axel shivered. "We ought to be getting back. The wind is picking up." Roxas nodded, glancing at his watch. They had been out for a good three hours and it was almost time for supper. His stomach grumbled at the thought. Axel swung down off the branch, and helped him down.

The walk back to the cabin was a lot easier than the walk up. Roxas sneezed as they walked inside the house, then smiled at the smells of something delicious on the cook. Axel had used the crock pot this morning and it smelled like whatever was in it was almost done. It was quickly revealed to be a delicious chicken stew, along with some crackers.

"Hm. Food supplies are getting a little low, I should do a run soon." Axel mused, then shook his head. "No, I should put it off a week or two so I can get those CD's and movies you wanted at the same time." Roxas nodded. Just in the short time he'd been here, he'd gotten a feeling for how Axel had to ration his time in the outside world. He needed to get groceries and supplies, and every trip ate a day. When you only had fourteen days, that really wasn't very many trips. Especially if Axel wanted to do anything out of the ordinary, like hang out at a bar and find someone to be with for the night. Although it made Roxas wonder who was watching Axel to see he abided by the trust's conditions. Axel seemed paranoid about violating them in any way. "And no, you can't come."

"I know, I know! You're ignorant, not stupid, I have it memorized." Axel blinked then laughed at that caustic reply. "Although I don't know why you say you're ignorant, you don't seem uneducated to me." Axel smiled and shook his head, taking a bite of his stew.

"That's just because I'm smart. I stopped going to school at ten." Roxas stared. That was illegal. "Technically, I was home schooled after that point but, well. More like I just fell through the cracks. I never got a test and didn't learn a thing except what I could from stale books after that. And Astrid was worse. When I met her, she couldn't read at all."

"Wait, back up. When you met her? You weren't raised together?" Axel frowned, scratching his head and clearly thinking about what he should say. Roxas just stared at him, silently daring him to clam up. Axel seemed to catch the message that if he stopped talking, he'd have an unhappy blonde on his hands and opened up a bit further.

"Well, see, it was like this. Mom got married really quickly and had me and Astrid right away. Then she found out dad was into more hardcore porn than our feeble minds could imagine, and she left him." Axel stopped a moment to chew on a cracker. "Now, he told her she could go and he wouldn't fight it if she took only one of us. So she took me and left Astrid. I have no idea how she picked, tossed a coin probably." Axel shrugged as Roxas quietly ate, listening. "I had to go live with him when I was ten, after she was killed in a botched robbery. And you can believe as much or as little of that as you want." Roxas frowned, feeling slightly insulted.

"I'm not doubting you, Axel." After the spiders, he was more inclined to take what Axel told him at face value. Axel blinked, then laughed.

"Not what I meant Roxas. I meant, I don't think it was a robbery, I think it was a hit." Roxas stared as Axel shrugged again, still smiling. "I couldn't prove it but dad didn't seem very surprised to suddenly have me back." Roxas swallowed, then shook his head, wondering how much of Axel's suspicions were true. What kind of monster had his father been?

"So you didn't meet Astrid until you both were ten." A note of uneasiness crept into Roxas voice as he thought about that. "She couldn't read at ten? That doesn't sound much like home schooling." He knew home schooling had rules, although he didn't know anyone who was doing it.

"Well, I guess it technically wasn't home schooling then. I have no idea what to call it. Run wild in the woods schooling? Anyway, I taught her to read and we were like this." Axel made a gesture with one hand, his first finger and thumb close together. "Tighter than tight. The rest, I'd rather not talk about right now." Axel kept eating, and Roxas had to be content with that. He'd learned that if he tried to push Axel when he clearly said he didn't want to talk about something, the redhead would just ignore him.

He didn't know that soon, some of his questions would be answered in an unexpected way.

* * *

"There has to be something to watch here." Roxas muttered as he sorted through the movies. There were plenty of titles, but he'd already watched most of them and there was just nothing on the TV tonight. Axel had every channel imaginable and some that weren't, but they seemed to be filled with crap. "Nine hundred channels and there's nothing on-huh?" Roxas blinked as his hands touched a new box. He had to really yank at it to get it out into the light, and frowned at it. "Huh." It had actually been hidden in a cubby hole behind the TV. Suddenly interested, he opened the brown box and tilted his head at the movies inside. They were home movies, and they were all labeled. Roxas smiled as he saw that most of them had Axel and Astrid written on them. They were probably tapes of the twins' childhood. Although the tapes with other names on them were a bit puzzling, but perhaps they were other children in the family. That would make sense. Picking a tape at random, Roxas put it into the VCR and watched as the video started. It was a home video and the quality wasn't great, but it didn't need to be perfect for him to see what was happening on the screen.

"Axel." The girl in the video was stark naked, and Roxas stared in shock. He could easily recognize her as Astrid, although she was much younger and healthy in this video. A boy was kneeling between her legs, and Roxas pressed a hand to his mouth as he recognized Axel. He was a lot smaller and younger, but the spiky red hair was unmistakable. She moaned and arched as he did something to her, her hands tangling in that red hair. _Wait. Is that's Astrid and that's Axel who's the cameraman? _Roxas thought, feeling sick. Then the video answered that question.

"Good Axel. Take her now." The cameraman… director…? Ordered. Axel lifted his head, expression blank, and Roxas saw he didn't have his tattoos yet. His eyes were completely closed off, without emotion, and he could see that Astrid's were similar. Whatever feelings they had for each other, they were acting for the camera right now.

"Yes dad." Axel crawled up his sister, and kissed her with warmth that belied the emptiness in his eyes. Or was it just good acting? Roxas couldn't tell. Then he-

Roxas almost had a heart attack as a fist smashed into the TV. Suddenly terrified, he looked up and saw Axel, expressionless, his fist wedged in the TV. Axel slowly pulled his hand away, shaking off the glass fragments. He took a deep breath, then looked down at Roxas. Roxas couldn't help but be afraid under the cold, dead weight of the redhead's stare.

"Yeah. I didn't mention it because I didn't think you'd find them, but don't watch those." Calmly, as if he hadn't just destroyed the television, Axel hit the eject button and took the tape out, putting it back into its case and then into the box. "That was actually the most vanilla one you could find, almost. You don't want to see the others." Roxas swallowed, wondering what was on them. But if Axel said he didn't want to see them, he was sure the redhead was right. Axel picked up the box of tapes, then stopped, frowning at the TV. "Could you go get the TV out of the computer room? I hardly ever watch it. I'll have to get a new widescreen." Roxas nodded, scrambling to his feet.

"Axel." Roxas swallowed, trying to think of a question. He had so many that they were running together in his head. Axel seemed to sense that, and shook his head with a small smile, shifting the box onto one arm so he could lay a finger against Roxas' lips.

"Not right now, Roxas. Maybe not ever, but definitely not right now." Roxas hesitated, then nodded. Axel had just shown his temper in a spectacular way, and he didn't want to push him right now. And it would be almost cruel, as well, after seeing that. "I'll put these away. You go get that TV."

"Okay." Roxas obeyed, but he couldn't help but think about what he had seen. Some of his questions about Axel's dad had been answered. But that had only left him with more questions.

He needed to find the answers.


	6. Letters Home

The rest of the day was just off. Axel and Roxas quietly avoided each other, as Axel worked out then took a very long nature hike. But Axel seemed infected with restless energy, and when he got back he spent the rest of the night in the kitchen. Any other time, Roxas would have been amused and appreciative of the results… scalloped potatoes, cassoulet and a three layer cake with buttercream icing and an alcoholic, fruity filling. But Axel ate hardly anything and Roxas found it impossible to relax. Axel wasn't willing to talk at all, just picking at his food and staring away blankly.

Sex that night was fast and almost violent. Axel was pulling him to the bed, working his clothes off before Roxas could say anything, his green eyes almost feverish. Hot hands trailed roughly over sensitive skin, and Roxas moaned softly. He couldn't deny how good it felt but Axel's intensity was scaring him a little. Soon the redhead was on top of him, kissing him deeply as his hands seemed to be everywhere.

"Axel, the condom." Roxas said through gritted teeth as Axel stretched him. Axel growled, nipping his throat before grabbing a packet off the bedstand. Soon Axel had the plastic on, and was sliding into the smaller blonde. Roxas yelped at the sudden, almost painful intrusion then groaned as Axel wrapped a hand around his erection, squeezing him and stroking in time with his thrusts. The rhythm he set was fast and punishing, pounding the smaller blonde into the mattress with every thrust. Roxas cried out as Axel bit his shoulder, the pain a wonderful counterpoint to the burning pleasure. His own nails dug into Axel's back, leaving red marks as he arched under the redhead. Panting harshly, Roxas finally released with a small scream. Axel came a moment later, gasping and closing his eyes. For a long time they lay together, just savoring the feeling of being together, but then Axel slowly pulled away.

"Sorry." Axel murmured, gently touching the marks on his shoulder. "I hurt you." Roxas shook his head.

"I've had worse." And that was nothing but the truth. He actually liked it a bit rough, sometimes. "Don't worry about it. Do you feel better?" Axel looked better, finally relaxing a bit in the afterglow. Axel nodded, putting his arms around Roxas and cuddling him close.

"It wasn't having sex with my sister that bothered me." He said in a low voice. "It was my dad…" Axel shook his head. "Don't want to talk about it right now."

"It's okay. Just sleep." Roxas comforted Axel gently, and he didn't think about it being strange, that he would comfort his kidnapper this way. It seemed completely natural.

They fell asleep together, and if either one dreamed they didn't remember.

* * *

Roxas stared into his bowl of leftover cassoulet, trying to think. He didn't want to put Axel back into the mood he'd been in yesterday. But he wanted to find out more about the redhead and what he'd endured.

"Axel? Uh, can I ask you some things?" Axel looked up from his oatmeal and from his expression, he wanted to say no. But then he sighed.

"Yeah, I guess. I might not answer, but you can ask. What is it?" Roxas blinked and tried to focus. What did he want to ask first? There were so many questions.

"Axel, you and Astrid. Are you…?" Roxas blushed as Axel grinned. He seemed relieved by the question.

"Lovers? Yeah. That was part of our plans when we opened the cake shop. We were going to settle down, have a family, the works. Although not get married." That would be too dangerous, even with false ID's. Roxas stared. "Does that disgust you?" Axel asked lightly, but there was a hint of hurt in his eyes.

"Well… yes! Axel, she's your _twin._" Roxas couldn't keep the shock out of his voice, and Axel sighed.

"We didn't meet until we were ten, Roxas, and then the situation was bad. How much do you know about adult incest and the Westermarck effect?" Roxas frowned. He'd never heard that term before.

"Not much." Axel thought for a moment, then started to explain.

"Okay, it's like this. First off, I learned about this when I was trying to figure out if we could be arrested for this. The answer is no, although CPS might try to take the kids away." Roxas winced at that. "Now, with adult incest there are two things at work, genetic attraction and the Westermarck effect. Genetic attraction is an instinctive thing. When you meet someone who shares a lot of your genes, it's a signal that if you have a baby with them than that kid will share even more of your genes than normal. To our instincts, that's a desirable thing. But inbreeding isn't desirable, and that's where the Westermarck effect comes in." Roxas ate his cassoulet as he listened, frowning. "It's an imprinting thing. If you live closely with someone for the first six years of their life or your life, it desensitizes you to any attraction. But Astrid and I met when we were ten. That's too late, Roxas. Add in what dad made us do and you can see why the whole twin thing didn't seem very important."

"Oh." It sounded like Axel had given the whole thing a lot of thought. But then, he was living it. Of course he would. "So you love her?" Roxas kept his voice neutral, but couldn't help feeling oddly betrayed at the thought. Although why he would feel that way, he wasn't sure. He didn't want Axel to love him. Did he?

"More than I can say." Axel's voice was husky as he blinked. "But she's- we've talked about this a lot, even with those damn nurses listening, and Astrid wants me to go on. She's wanted me to find someone for over a year now." Roxas swallowed, reaching out to take Axel's hand. "She said she wants me to be h-happy."

"She sounds like a great girl." Roxas wasn't going to judge Axel for his relationship with his sister, not after what he'd seen in those tapes. Axel looked a bit surprised, then smiled shyly.

"Thanks Roxas." He'd really expected the blonde to be horrified and disgusted. And Roxas was a bit disgusted, but he was handling it well. Axel could live with that. "Hey, Roxas, I thought of something I could do for you if you want."

"What?" Roxas suspected Axel was changing the subject before he could ask about his father, but that was okay. He didn't want to push Axel too hard all at once.

"You could send Sora a letter." Roxas stopped eating, staring at the redhead. He seemed to be serious.

"What? Are you serious?" Roxas had thought Axel was too paranoid about getting caught to allow him anything like that. Axel shrugged, smiling slightly.

"It's a small risk. But if I head to Fairbanks and just dump a letter in a random mailbox, there's not much chance they'll be able to figure anything out. I mean, Fairbanks is pretty big and people drift in and out all the time." Roxas nodded slowly. Axel was right, it would be a very minor risk, especially if he kept his hair covered. Which wouldn't be hard at all since everyone was wearing toques or hats now anyway. Winter was definitely coming.

"Thanks Axel, I really appreciate it." Roxas smiled, and Axel was captivated by the happiness in that smile. "Do you have some paper and a pen?" Axel nodded, eating a bit more of his breakfast.

"Sure, I'll get it as soon as we're done eating." There was no real point in getting it now, Roxas couldn't write while he was eating anyway. Axel would have to read the letter before he sent it, to make sure Roxas wasn't giving out any hints, but he was sure the blonde realized that. He was just glad he'd made his lover happy, and it eased his guilt a little to know that they could reassure Roxas' twin that he was alive.

* * *

"Riku, do you think he's still alive?"

"I'm sure he is, Sora." Riku tried to comfort his lover as Sora quietly sniffed. Sora was living with him now. When the police had questioned him, Sora had needed to tell them everything about Roxas' lifestyle, and his mother hadn't been happy. She'd been even less happy to find out that Sora had a steady boyfriend. Riku privately thought that she would eventually come around, but on top of the loss of Roxas it had all been too much and she'd kicked Sora out. Which was just fine by Riku, he was more then willing to put Sora up indefinitely. In fact, he rather hoped it would be permanent.

"I miss him so much." Sora was finding that life without Roxas was very, very hard. Roxas had been the down to earth, dependable one, always reminding Sora of things he had forgotten. It had been annoying a lot of the time, but now that Roxas was gone Sora missed those reminders so much. And he was so afraid that Roxas was dead. That was a thought too terrible to contemplate, but Sora knew that with each passing day it was getting likelier.

"We all do." Riku half-lied. Roxas hadn't been his favorite person, but he'd never wished any harm on the blond boy. He'd just wished Roxas would stop trying to protect Sora so much. "The police are trying hard, Sora. I'm sure they'll find him."

"How?" Sora sounded so despairing, and Riku didn't have a good answer. No one had seen who Roxas had gone off with. There were no clues at all. It was as if the blonde had dropped off the face of the earth. Riku could only comfort Sora, and hope the police somehow had a breakthrough that would bring Roxas back safe and sound. Riku frowned, looking up as the phone rang. It was Sora's mom's telephone number. He quickly grabbed it before Sora could.

"Hello?" There was a brief paused before the other person on the line spoke.

"Tell Sora that he has some mail. I'll be at work but he still has a key, he can pick it up at any time."

"I'll tell-" _Click. _"-him." Riku sighed and hung up the phone. "Your mom is so pissy, Sora." Sora winced, looking down. The estrangement with his mother was really hurtful. "She says you can go pick up your mail anytime you want."

"We might as well get it before supper." Sora had a few things he wanted, like his cell phone bill. It had probably come in. Riku nodded.

"Be good to go for a walk anyway." The air outside was chill but it was a nice, sunny autumn day. They walked over to Sora's mother's place slowly, just enjoying being together. Soon they fetched the mail, then walked back home, Sora glancing through it on the way.

"Cell phone bill, good. New pizza place? Junk… junk… what's this?" Sora frowned at one particular letter, tilting his head to one side. "It's addressed to me and looks handwritten, but there's no return address."

"Probably more spam. They can get clever sometimes." Riku said as they walked into the apartment and started putting their coats away. Sora opened the cell phone bill first, moaning a little at his charges before touching the mystery letter.

"Riku!" Riku looked up sharply at the shock in Sora's voice. "It's from Roxas!"

"What?!?" Riku was standing beside the brunette before he was even aware of moving, trying to peer over his shoulder at the letter. "What does he say? Is he okay? We should call the police to give them that!" Sora couldn't be distracted from the letter, reading it out loud for Riku.

_Sora,_

_I know you've probably been really worried, and I can't blame you a bit. How long has it been? I've lost track of time a bit._

_As you've probably guessed, I've been kidnapped. It's not really that bad, though. I can't tell you much about it… he'll be reading this letter… but I'm really okay Sora. I'm in no pain and he says that eventually, I'll be able to go home to all of you. It's a little complicated, but I believe him. How's mom been doing? Have you told her I'm gay or have you managed to just keep that to the police? If you told her I'm ripping your nuts off._

"Your nuts are in danger." Riku murmured as Sora blushed, then kept reading.

_The only really bad thing that's happened so far is getting assaulted by a swarm of spiders, and I managed to escape with my sanity intact. Did you know that swarms of spiders really exist? I could have gone through my life not knowing that, but there you go. He says we just have to live and let live, but I wish I had a spray gun like that guy in Arachnophobia._

_There's not much else I can think of to say. He'll be reading this, so I can't tell you much about where I am. He says I should be back in a year at the most though, so don't worry too much Sora. I swear, I'm fine and I'll be back to annoy you again._

_-Roxas_

_PS – Tell Riku he'd better be treating you right or his nuts are next._

"Your nuts are in danger too." Sora managed to say before he burst into tears. Riku gently cuddled the brunette, smiling slightly. They were happy tears. Roxas was alive and if the letter was truthful, he would be staying that way.

"We better call the police so they can take the letter." Riku was pretty sure it wouldn't help much, but it would be evidence against someone, someday. If they ever caught the person who had done this.

* * *

Elsewhere, a few days earlier.

"Hey, help me unload this thing." Axel said cheerfully to Roxas, who nodded with a smile and came up to help unload the helicopter. It was filled to maximum capacity with food and… ammunition? Axel caught his frown and explained cheerfully. "Deer hunting season. Nothing like fresh venison on the table."

"Ah." That sounded like Axel. Roxas could easily picture him stalking deer through the forest, then gutting and skinning the bodies. Axel didn't seem to shy at any chores, no matter how nasty they were. "I've never been hunting before, can I come?"

"Sure." Axel wasn't worried about giving Roxas a gun. If Roxas shot him, he'd be left with a helicopter he couldn't fly and a computer he couldn't log into. And Axel couldn't believe Roxas would do that anyway. They were getting much closer.

_Don't think that. _Axel reminded himself. _When this is over, he'll go back to his family and I'll never see him again. _That thought was painful, though. Axel pushed it away, concentrating on the moment. He'd had a lot of practice at taking things a day at a time.

"What's with all the flowers?" Roxas blinked at the box of fresh flowers. They were all packed into vases with water. It was a little odd, why would Axel bother with flowers that would be gone in a week?

"They brighten up the house a bit. And I, um, put some of them on the elephant's graveyard." Axel said quickly. "It's something Astrid asked me to do." And not something he wanted to talk about. Roxas frowned at him, and Axel had to smile. The blonde looked so cute wearing the fur coat, his cheeks reddening a little with the cold wind.

"You mean the place you buried the family pets?" That would make sense, if Axel and Astrid had been allowed to have any pets growing up. Or if their father had had any. Being a psycho didn't mean you couldn't have pets. Axel laughed mirthlessly.

"I guess you could say that." Roxas stared at Axel for a moment, but he didn't elaborate, just taking the boxes into the house.

"Would the police say that?" Roxas said neutrally, and Axel paused before starting to take the flowers out of the box.

"No, I don't imagine they would." Axel shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Roxas. You can come with me when I put out the flowers if you want." Roxas hesitated, then nodded. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know more about Axel's gruesome past, but he was too curious to just let it go.

"You know, Axel, your family has more skeletons in the closet than a haunted house." Roxas said as he helped put the food away. Axel laughed.

"Yeah, isn't that the truth? Oh look, I got some Molson just for you." Roxas had to grin at Axel's attempt to change the subject, but grabbed a beer. He really did like Molson.

"Thanks Axel." Roxas was a bit amazed by the warmth that was growing in his heart towards the redhead. If only he'd been at home with Axel as his boyfriend, things would have been perfect. Roxas vaguely wondered if that could ever happen. But how?

He'd have to think about it. He wasn't sure he wanted to give the crazy redhead up.


	7. The Elephant's Graveyard

Flowers didn't keep very long, even refrigerated, so Axel needed to take the flowers to the graveyard sooner than later. But before he did, he decided it was time for something else.

"Hey, Roxas, come here." Roxas blinked but obediently went to the redhead. Then he started in surprise as Axel did something to the collar and it came free with a click. "There's some good snow out there now, so I don't think you need this anymore. You do know there's no chance you could hike back to civilization this time of year, right?" Axel sounded slightly worried, and Roxas nodded.

"I get it Axel." He hated the truth of it, but he knew it was true. Axel smiled, a touch relieved.

"Good, because if you took off into the wild I'd have to try to track you, and that would probably get us both killed." Axel shook his head. "I'm good but not that good." Axel knew his limits and while he was fairly good at survival, winter camping in this forest required very careful planning and good equipment. Most of which he didn't have. Leaving the house to go camping in the woods wasn't his idea of a good time. Of course, the sensible thing to do if Roxas took off would be to just let him die. But Axel couldn't imagine doing that anymore. It would haunt him forever if he let something happen to the blonde when he could have prevented it.

"I said I get it, Axel." Roxas sounded irritated now, and Axel grinned.

"Sorry." He said contritely and Roxas glowered at him.

"No, you're not. Are you going to show me this graveyard or not?" That wiped the grin off Axel's face, and he went to grab the bundle of roses he'd saved for this. They were still in good shape, beautiful and red.

The corner of the property Axel brought him to was past where the collar would have reached, a sunny little clearing filled with dying wildflowers under a light coating of snow. Roxas stared at the little white crosses that had been erected in the clearing. It looked like someone had been carefully maintaining the crosses, keeping the paint fresh. They were scattered haphazardly over the clearing, rather than arrayed in rows. Roxas thought there were perhaps a dozen of them. Axel wordlessly handed him half the flowers, and began placing the roses at the base of the crosses. Roxas hesitated, then followed his lead until the flowers were gone.

"Why an elephant's graveyard?" Roxas said for something to say, something to get Axel talking. Axel sighed, his breath visible in the cold air.

"It's an old myth, that elephants go to the elephant's graveyard to die. Means any collection of similar objects. It's also from the Lion King movie." Axel ran a finger over one of the crosses. "You remember those movie tapes you found? Did you notice that some of them had other names?" Roxas swallowed and nodded. Axel gestured slowly at the graveyard. "They're all here." Roxas paled as he understood Axel's meaning.

"Axel. Are you saying your father was a _serial killer?_"

"Yup." Axel just sounded slightly sad, as he looked over the crosses with their red roses and dead wildflowers. "Astrid and I were his main toys, but whenever he was bored or just wanted to kill someone, he'd kidnap some kid. I think the youngest was twelve, the oldest was your age." Axel glanced over at Roxas thoughtfully. "You would have been just his type. He didn't care how old they were, just that they looked like teenagers." Roxas looked over the graves, feeling like he might throw up. How could Axel take it so calmly? "You know the worst part? Astrid and I didn't care." Roxas stared at Axel, catching the quiet sadness in his eyes. "We were just glad it wouldn't be us for a while. Whenever he had a new toy, he'd leave us alone until he broke it. We only really cared after he was dead. Is that horrible or what?"

"You were just kids, Axel. And there was nothing you could do." Roxas looked over the graves and shook his head. "I can't believe the police didn't catch him." Axel suddenly laughed and Roxas looked at him questioningly.

"The police aren't god, Roxas. These kids were all strays, runaways, and it's harder when a serial killer has the money for a private chopper." Axel stared at the crosses blankly for a moment, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It's over, he died of a heart attack and I hope he burns in Hell." Axel stepped close, putting his arms around Roxas. The blonde hesitated a moment before letting Axel hold him.

"You should tell the police, Axel. Maybe they could identify them." Roxas finally said, and Axel shook his head.

"It might get Astrid and me in trouble, and the elephants don't care Roxas." Axel really didn't want to go anywhere near the police, and not just because he'd kidnapped Roxas. The incest and the fact that he and Astrid had obeyed all of their father's orders made him very nervous about that. Axel swallowed, thinking about it. There had been no choice at all if they wanted to keep each other alive, but he didn't trust anyone to understand that. Not even Roxas, if he saw a few of those tapes.

"Their families might." Axel winced. Roxas was right.

"Well, I'll think about it." He wasn't going to promise anything, but maybe sending the tapes and a detailed explanation would be what to do when- Axel shut down that train of thought firmly. "Anyway, now you know the worst of it, pretty much."

"You mean there's more?" Roxas said with morbid curiosity, and Axel laughed.

"Not really. Just what's in the attic, and you can probably skip it. It was dad's workroom." Roxas winced at the thought. That explained why Axel had said he might lose his lunch if he was sensitive.

Axel, meanwhile, was feeling rather relieved. Roxas knew practically everything now. There wouldn't be anymore horrible revelations after this, not really. Maybe just a few minor ones about his uncle and the family business, but that wasn't much. It was a weight off his shoulders.

"Well, we should go back." Roxas finally said, and Axel nodded, letting go of the blonde.

"Right." Axel glanced over the elephant's graveyard for a moment, noting the crosses that needed some painting. He would take care of that soon. He always took good care of the graveyard for Astrid.

After that, time passed without any real events. Fall began to turn into winter, the snow falling heavily over the pine forest. Axel and Roxas went hunting and managed to catch several deer, as well as a bear that decided Roxas looked tasty. That part had been hair-raising, but Axel had taken it down as calmly as if it was another deer.

At the moment, though, Roxas couldn't find Axel. He'd looked everywhere in the house except the basement and attic, and he just couldn't find the redhead. Now he was exploring the outside of the house, puzzled.

"Did he go on a hike?" That seemed unlikely though. Unless Axel was upset or mad at him, which had happened only once or twice, Axel would at least tell him he was going on a hike. Usually he would ask if Roxas wanted to come. Then he blinked as he heard a cheerful voice raised in song.

"I am a lumberjack and I'm okay! I sleep all night and I work all day." Roxas turned the corner and stared as he saw Axel. He was just wearing a flannel shirt, ignoring the snow blowing through the air as he chopped wood. There was a tidy pile of wood beside him, and as Roxas watched he neatly bisected another piece, tossing it into the pile. "I cut down trees, I skip and I jump, I like to press wildflowers, I put on women's clothing and hang around in bars." Roxas grinned as he recognized the song. Monty Python was full of win.

"You know, your sister was right." Roxas commented as Axel killed another log just to see it die. "You're really sexy in flannel, sweaty and chopping wood." Axel looked up, his green eyes full of laughter, and Roxas smiled. _I've got it bad._ He wasn't sure if this was Stockholm syndrome or just simple lust with a bit of love thrown in, but whatever it was he had a bad case of it. "You look good enough to eat."

"Keep talking Roxy, and you might have to." Roxas grinned and shook his head. Axel was just kidding, he could tell. The redhead grabbed another log, setting it in front of him and chopping it easily. "I was thinking we could have a fire tonight and make some s'mores."

"Sounds great!" There was a fireplace in the cabin, a nice big one, and it was cold enough that the warmth would be welcome. Not to mention the opportunity to burn some marshmallows. "Hey, can we make hot dogs too?" Axel looked thoughtful at that.

"Sure." Axel thought that if he pulled out a packet of hot dogs now and put them in cool water, they would be unthawed enough for supper. They didn't have any hot dog buns out, but regular bread would do. And it would be fun to roast wieners over the fire too. "Grab that wheelbarrow for me?" Roxas nodded and pulled over the wheelbarrow as Axel gathered up several of the pieces of wood and started loading it. Working together, they had it filled and back at the house in no time.

Later, they had a ton of fun roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in the fireplace. They had the graham crackers and plenty of chocolate, and Axel found a bottle of caramel syrup. Drizzled on top of the s'mores, it was delicious. Soon they were curled up comfortably on the couch, just enjoying the fire.

"Axel?" Roxas murmured sleepily, curled up against the redhead's side. "Just hold me?" He smiled as he felt warm lips against his forehead for a moment, before Axel slipped an arm around him.

"Love to." And they fell asleep in front of the fire, just being together.

* * *

Roxas looked up from the movie he was watching. Axel was doing something in the kitchen and it had been going on all morning. He'd smelled some baking, but now there were just a lot of whirring sounds and some swearing. Was Axel making another cake? Finally letting curiosity get the better of him, Roxas walked into the kitchen and blinked.

"Axel, what are you doing?" He said after a moment of staring. The redhead looked up from where he was blending together some black frosting and grinned. There was a bit of frosting smearing on his cheek

"I'm making a cake for the Threadless competition. Have you heard of threadcakes?" Roxas shook his head.

"No. I've heard of Threadless though, Sora ordered some t-shirts from them." Roxas had to admit they were funny, although he still thought it was a waste of money. "Let me guess, there's a prize."

"Got it in one. And it's good for my portfolio." Axel said cheerfully and Roxas blinked, wondering if he was joking. But he and Astrid had dreamed of opening a bakery, so maybe not. "And this!" Axel scooped up a blob of black icing with his finger and pointed dramatically at the main cake. It had been carefully sculpted and supported, then fondanted. It looked like a bird wearing a bandanna. "It's going to be ninja bird! Doesn't he look neat?"

"Mmm hmm." Roxas privately though that he'd look a lot better when he was colored, but another thought had occurred to him. He stepped forward, grabbing Axel's hand and making the redhead blink at him. He smiled sweetly up into confused green eyes, then slowly licked away the icing from his finger.

"…" Green eyes widened as Roxas' tongue darted out, and Axel swallowed as his pants suddenly seemed far too tight. Leaning down, he caught the blonde's lips in a gentle kiss, tasting the icing on soft, warm lips. The kiss was slow and sensuous, and Roxas slid his hands behind Axel's head, tangling his fingers in red spikes before deepening the kiss.

"Axel." Roxas murmured as they separated, looking up into stunned green eyes. He vaguely wondered what had come over him. This was the first time he'd really come onto the redhead after his kidnapping, but it felt so right. "Do that again."

"S-Sure." Axel kissed Roxas again, cupping the blonde's face in his hands. The sweet taste of his lovers' lips was intoxicating, and Axel was vaguely aware that his half-done frosting was coming apart, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was Roxas.

Then the blonde was pulling him out of the room, towards the bedroom, and Axel swallowed again. He was astonished by what Roxas was doing. Could he really…? Axel shut down the thought. All that mattered was the moment, and he was incredibly turned on now.

"I want to be on top." Roxas said softly as he yanked at Axel's zipper, trying to get his pants off. Axel helped, groaning slightly as his erection was freed from the confining fabric. "I want to ride you." Axel hadn't thought he could get anymore hot and bothered, but he'd been wrong. That thought was too sexy for words.

"Anything you want, Roxas." Axel helped the blond out of his clothes, smiling as he saw Roxas was just as ready for this. Soon the redhead was flat on his back in the bed, watching with eyes full of desire as Roxas smiled and ran his hands over Axel's hard erection, lubing him up and gently squeezing him. "Wait, Roxas. The condom." Axel had almost forgotten, but Roxas snorted.

"Screw it." Roxas muttered as he ran his hand through Axel's curly red hair, making his cock jump and the redhead gasp. "I'm fine, you're fine and I don't want anyone else." Axel was too far gone to his desire to think about that, and his erection agreed with no interruptions. Axel bucked up into the blonde's hands, and groaned as Roxas squeezed him again.

"Stop teasing!" Axel reached up to grab Roxas, but the blonde easily avoided him before crawling up and positioning himself. Axel swallowed thickly and gripped the blankets as Roxas smiled, lowering himself onto the sexy redhead under him. Roxas closed his eyes for a moment, gasping at the feeling of being filled, the sudden sting and the pleasure under it. Then he moved his hips, and that was all the encouragement Axel needed to thrust up into that wet, tight heat over him. Roxas moaned as Axel wrapped a hand around him, stroking him as they moved together. It was so good, so right, so intense. Roxas set the pace, panting softly as he took the redhead faster and faster, the sound of their bodies slapping together echoing through the room. Roxas looked down into bright green eyes, and felt a warmth in his heart to match the pleasure in his body.

"Axel." He moaned the redhead's name as he started to reach his peak. "Axel!" Axel caught his hands, holding them in his larger ones as they moved together.

"Roxas." Roxas' breath caught in his throat at the intensity in Axel's voice. "God, Roxas, I-ah!" The redhead suddenly came and Roxas followed, releasing across his belly. They were both left panting, sweaty and satisfied. Roxas looked into Axel's face again, blue eyes meeting green, and saw something so intense, so painfully bright that it made him want to hold Axel forever and never let him go.

_Is this love?_ Roxas wondered as he pulled himself free of the redhead. It seemed too soon, even if Axel hadn't kidnapped him. And how could he love someone who was keeping him against his will? _But he isn't hurting me, and he's just so perfect._ Axel seemed like everything Roxas could want in a lover. Could it be real? Could the redhead feel the same?

Finally deciding not to think about it, Roxas curled up beside Axel, letting the redhead hold him and murmur soft nothings in his ear.

If it wasn't real, he wanted to pretend.

* * *

Roxas woke up in the middle of the night. That wasn't unusual, he often did and went back to sleep. But tonight he felt strangely restless, and slipped away from Axel, throwing on a robe and walking through the house.

He wasn't sure why, but he went to the kitchen, turning on the light and looking over Axel's cake creation. The bird really was cute, although it would look much better painted. And Roxas wondered what the tiny katana drying nearby was for. Was the bird going to be holding it? That would explain ninja bird.

The board under the bird was already coated in fondant and black icing. Roxas stared at it, thinking, and reached out. He knew that Axel would have to take pictures of the bird for the competition. He could… could scrawl his name in the icing. If Axel didn't notice, maybe someone looking at the entries would. And Axel would have to give his PO Box for the prize. The trail would lead right back to him. Roxas started to write his name on the board, then stopped, the R barely finished.

If he did that and the police found him… what would happen to Axel and Astrid? Roxas bit his lip, then suddenly blotted out the letter. Axel would go to jail and Astrid would die, sooner rather than later without any treatment. He couldn't do that to them. Roxas walked away, feeling strangely at peace.

He had made a choice.


	8. The Blizzard and More Letters Home

"Argh, cold! Cold cold cold." Axel was busy knocking snow and ice off the roof, which Roxas found a little alarming. If he fell off, Axel could break a leg. But Axel seemed to feel it was necessary, and Roxas wasn't about to argue. Could the roof collapse? There sure was quite a bit of ice. "I think that should do it." The redhead finally came back down the ladder, to Roxas relief.

It had been several months, he guessed, and the weather had turned bitterly cold. The TV said a blizzard was coming, and there were all kinds of warnings not to drive, which had prompted Axel to work on the roof before it arrived. He seemed morose though, and Roxas wondered why.

"Is something wrong?" Roxas asked, watching his breath plume in the cold air in front of him. Axel grimaced.

"My satellite internet. The TV too, actually. Bad weather kills them." Roxas blinked, then winced. That meant that Axel quite likely wouldn't be able to talk to his sister at all until the storm was over. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Wait, this means I can't watch Merlin? This sucks!" Roxas exclaimed, then blushed as Axel laughed at him.

"You and Merlin. Don't worry, the storm should be over for Saturday. Hopefully." Axel didn't have a whole lot of faith in the forecast, although he was sure they were right that a storm was coming. After spending his whole life in the mountains, Axel could spot the signs easily. "Guess what we're having for supper!" Axel said as they went back inside the house.

"Um?" Roxas blinked, thinking about it. The supplies were running low again, Axel was planning to make another trip out as soon as the weather cleared enough to allow it. Roxas was hoping he'd be able to write another letter to Sora when he did, but he wasn't sure what Axel could be thinking of making. "I have no idea."

"Bear curry." Roxas paused in hanging up his coat before turning to look at the redhead.

"You're not serious." Roxas blinked at Axel's innocent expression. "You butchered the _bear?_"

"Of course! Waste not, want not." Roxas looked like he'd rather eat the spiders in the basement, and Axel hastened to add. "It's really not bad. Especially in curry. I tried out a steak ahead of time, and this bear isn't the best, which is why I'm making curry." The intense spices would obliterate most of the gamy flavor.

"Well, I'll try it." Roxas wasn't going to make any promises though. "How did your entry into the Threadless competition go?" Axel sighed.

"Got an honorable mention." Axel shrugged philosophically. "Not because there was anything wrong with mine, the other entries were just so damn good." Roxas nodded. He'd been truly impressed with Axel's final entry. The little ninja bird had been surrounded by four black cats, menacing him as he faced them with his little katana. It had been incredibly cute and had really resembled the t-shirt it was taken from. "You should have seen the winner, it was truly epic. I've never seen anything that elaborate."

"Maybe you could print it out for me?" Axel still wouldn't let Roxas at his computer, and the blonde couldn't help but resent it a little. But even if Axel had trusted him absolutely, which he didn't, it would have been very tempting to send Sora an e-mail. And Roxas was fairly sure that was traceable, so Axel's caution still made sense.

"Sure!" Axel didn't mind that at all. He had plenty of ink cartridges, he could print off all kinds of things to show Roxas.

Several days later, though, neither one of them was very cheerful. The blizzard had started off slowly but it had built to a painful intensity. Axel and Roxas were both trapped in the house without TV or internet, and the store of movies had dwindled fast. Books had helped, but you could only read so many books in a day. The conditions quickly led to cabin fever, with Axel more irritable and restless and Roxas sleeping much of the day away. But the blonde was irritable too, when he was awake. So it wouldn't have really been surprising to an observer when a fight started. It had almost been inevitable. Axel and Roxas got along very well most of the time, rarely fighting, but these were the perfect conditions for one.

It was over something stupid. Later, Roxas would only vaguely remember it had had something to do with leaving a jar open. But who had left it open and why, he wasn't sure. But it ended in both of them furious, and Axel stomping to the front hall closet to get out his coat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Roxas snapped, angry, as Axel shrugged on his coat and grabbed his gloves.

"Out!" Axel slammed on his hat as Roxas scowled.

"Are you nuts? There's a blizzard going on out there!" The conditions were horrible too. Roxas had never really seen a whiteout before, but he had now.

"I don't care!" Axel snarled as he wrenched open the door. Roxas winced at the burst of cold air, but Axel didn't pause, slamming the door behind him. Roxas stared at it for a moment.

"Well, have fun and see if I care if you freeze to death!" Roxas shouted at the closed door. Shaking his head, he went to go grab his book. But he couldn't read it, he was too angry. Pacing, he resisted the urge to throw the book against a wall. That wouldn't help, and he didn't want to abuse a book that way. "Bastard!" Roxas growled.

But gradually, as he paced, his anger cooled. Yes, Axel had been an ass, but he had been snappish too. Roxas was sure he had been right, but so what? Was it worth being right, really? He didn't want to be angry with Axel anymore.

Roxas suddenly frowned as he glanced at a clock on the wall, realizing it had been almost an hour since Axel had left the house. It was _cold_ out there, cold and easy to get turned around. Roxas felt a sudden fear. Axel had reminded him many times of how wild the wilderness was here, but had the redhead forgotten? Roxas hesitated a moment, then went to get his own coat, mittens and toque.

Axel, meanwhile, was discovering that he had made a very bad mistake. Caught up in his anger, he'd gone in a random direction, slogging through the heavy snow and not really thinking about what he was doing at all. But the blizzard was so strong he could barely see a hand in front of his face, and by the time his temper cooled enough to let him think a bit, he had no idea how far he'd gone. Axel slowed, then stopped, glancing around at the flying snow and swallowing. Fear chilled his anger more effectively than the cold, and Axel tried desperately to figure out what direction the house was in.

"Roxas!" Axel called, not expecting an answer and not getting one. He hesitated, then tried to follow his tracks back. But the blizzard was obliterating them too quickly. He couldn't have said how long he kept walking, wondering if he was going in the right direction or if he was getting further away before he heard a voice.

"Axel!" Axel's eyes widened and he called back.

"Roxas! Stay where you are and call for me!" It would be truly ironic if he found Roxas and then they were both lost in the blizzard. Ironic in a really nasty way.

"Over here!" Axel followed the sound and soon reached Roxas, who grabbed his hand. "The house is right here!" Axel heaved out a breath in relief. He felt like a complete fool for putting himself into such a dangerous situation. Roxas dragged him back inside, and Axel sighed as he felt the warm air inside the house. Then he sniffed, rubbing his nose. It had gone bright red from the cold and was watering like mad.

"Thank you so much Roxas. I-I was lost." He admitted, shamefaced as Roxas gave him an indecipherable look. Then Axel looked down. After that scare, the fight seemed like petty stupidity. "I'm really sorry I got on your case."

"It's okay." Axel looked up as Roxas touched his elbow, then began pulling off his gloves and coat. "I shouldn't have snapped at you." Axel nodded, and started pulling off his coat and gloves as well. They were caked with snow. Roxas smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "You can make it up to me in bed tonight." Make-up sex was the best kind. Axel choked at the thought, then laughed.

"Gladly!" He hugged Roxas tightly for a moment, feeling relieved and so much better. Maybe a reminder of what was important had been what he needed. Although he wasn't going to do it again.

Next time, he might not be so lucky.

* * *

"Time for another food run, Roxy. Is there anything you want, besides that stuff we've ordered?" Axel's PO Box was always insanely full when he went to check on it, but that was okay. He paid extra for the post office to hold his stuff. It was expensive, but worth it. "I was going to head out tomorrow, if you want to write a letter." Roxas nodded. He'd actually been working on the letter off and on throughout the blizzard. Things had finally cleared up, although it was incredibly difficult to walk through the snow. Axel had been busy digging out the helicopter all morning.

"Could you get some bran flakes and real milk? I love bran flakes." The milk wouldn't last long, leaving him with powdered skim, but that was just the way it went. Axel smiled.

"Sure, if you want." Axel privately couldn't imagine wanting to eat bran flakes instead of eggs, bacon and toast, but if that was what Roxas liked he would definitely get it. "With raisins?"

"Of course! Two scoops of raisins in a package of Kellogg's Raisin Bran." Axel laughed at the old jingle, and flopped down onto the couch. After all the digging, he needed a break, although he wasn't done. The helicopter still needed a bit of work to be ready for flight.

For now, though, he needed a rest. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

* * *

The phone rang, and Riku picked it up, grimacing as he saw it was Sora's mom again.

Things were not going well on that front. Riku had underestimated how much Sora's mom was against the thought that both her boys were gay. Sora thought that she had been expecting grandbabies, and hoping Sora and Kairi would make a match. The fact that Sora and Kairi were nothing but friends had escaped her. Riku sighed and finally answered the phone.

"Hello?" He asked, glancing at Sora. His boyfriend was hard at work on some math problems.

"Tell Sora to come home immediately, there's another letter!" Riku blinked as the receiver clicked, then hung up the phone and glanced at Sora. His mom had sounded excited, but that wasn't surprising. Gay or not, Roxas was her son.

"Sora, we need to go over to your mom's place, she got another letter from Roxas." Sora bounced to his feet, smiling brightly with relief. Roxas said he was fine, but when months went by without a letter they had to worry. Things could change. Riku went with Sora, although he knew his reception would be chilly at best. He was right. When they arrived at the house, Sora's mom, a short woman with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes, ignored him quite thoroughly as she gave Sora a quick hug.

"The letter's here. I've read it already, but it's addressed to you." Her tone turned dry. "For obvious reasons." She had found the content of the letter less than amusing, although she was still glad to have gotten it. Sora quickly grabbed the letter and read it aloud for Riku's benefit.

_Sora,_

_I know mom is probably reading this now so, well, I guess we're both toast. On the plus side, you get to keep your nuts. Mom, don't be too upset please? We can't help it really. I haven't noticed a girl since elementary school, but I think you probably knew that._

_Things have been going okay for me. It's hard writing when I have to be careful what I say… hmm. I got to go hunting and a bear tried to eat me. But he shot it, he's really good with guns. The downside is that we ate it later, bear is really gross even in curry. It's so greasy. He says that they can taste better in summer when they're eating berries rather than the fall when they're getting ready to hibernate. We also caught some deer. He took care of skinning and gutting them, thank god._

_This is probably going to sound really weird, Sora, and mom please don't freak but he's really cute. I can't tell you what he looks like but, well, he's nice and- he's reading over my shoulder and laughing at me. Oi! Just threatened him with the pen of doom. Oh well, he'd be reading this sooner or later. I like him Sora. I wish we'd met on better circumstances, but his family is really creepy and, well, I can't say too much about that._

_He likes to cook. He makes the most amazing things, he's working on something from Julia Child's book tonight. I don't think French cooking usually involves that much swearing though. Or smoke in the house. It might be hot dogs tonight, heh. He also makes really awesome cakes when he's in the mood to, and the way he decorates them is beautiful. Heh, everything I'm writing is about him isn't it? But I can't tell you where I am and I'm pretty sure he won't mind me telling you a bit about him._

_I hope you and Riku have been doing okay Sora, and mom, please try not to worry too much about me. You should be getting another letter in a couple months. Hmm, I can't think of anything else to write that wouldn't have to be edited out. So, I love you mom, Sora! Even Riku. I guess._

_-Roxas_

"Gosh, I'm flattered." Riku shook his head with a small smile as Sora beamed. Riku took his hand, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Let's get that to the police."

"…It's weird how he says that the guy who took him is nice." Sora sounded a little worried as they brought the letter to the police station. "Is that Stockholm syndrome?"

"Maybe. But on the plus side, if Roxas is getting attached to him maybe he's getting attached to Roxas." Riku thought that was generally a positive thing. He'd been reading up on the subject, and so had Sora, and he had read that when a killer couldn't dehumanize the person they were with they sometimes had trouble following through. He had no idea if the man who had taken Roxas was a killer or what, but the more he saw Roxas as a person the better the blond's chances were.

"I hope so." Sora sounded very anxious now, and Riku gave him another comforting squeeze.

None of them would rest easy until Roxas was back home.


	9. Christmas in the Mountains

Several weeks later, Axel and Roxas were rudely awoken by the sound of a helicopter landing.

"Oh gods. Roxas." Roxas blinked at the pleading tone in Axel's voice, then gasped as the redhead suddenly hugged him, looking into his face desperately. Then as sleep vanished and he got his mind in gear, Roxas realized what was happening. Someone was coming and there hadn't been any warning. Was it the police? Or someone else? But either way, with no warning there was nothing Axel could do to stop him from escaping. He could try to tie Roxas up and gag him, but if Roxas struggled it would take too much time. It didn't take long to land a helicopter, not long at all.

"It's okay Axel." Roxas stared into those brilliant green eyes and made a decision. It was the same decision he'd made with the icing months ago. "I'll stay out of sight." Axel's eyes brightened with held back tears, and he smiled, nuzzling Roxas' throat for a moment.

"I don't deserve you." He murmured softly, then got out of bed to quickly get dressed. Roxas followed suit. He would stay out of sight, but he still wanted to listen in. And if it was the police, he might need to intervene.

It wasn't the police. Axel answered the door to a hard knock as Roxas peeked through a cracked door curiously. It was a stranger with bright gold hair, blue eyes and a rather neat beard, and Roxas stared as he realized he recognized him.

"Senator Luxord, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Axel said sardonically, and the stranger snorted.

"That's Uncle to you, brat." Luxord glanced around and Roxas quickly moved so he couldn't be seen. "I see you've been keeping the place up."

"Got to. Want some coffee, Uncle?" Axel said with a faint edge to his voice. "You could have sent me an e-mail or something that you were coming."

"Why? You have pressing engagements?" Axel snorted as Luxord laughed, and Roxas wished he could see them. Hesitantly, he peeked out again, watching them going to the kitchen. "I figured if I missed you somehow, I could just let myself in and wait for you to get back." It was a bit harder for Roxas to hear them from the kitchen, but he could still make them out. But his thoughts were adrift as he came to grips with the new revelation.

Axel was nephew to Senator Luxord Beaumarch? That had to mean he was rich, technically. The Beaumarch family was old money. Was that Axel's last name? Although Roxas supposed it didn't really count as being rich when you could only take out three thousand dollars a month and had to live in a cabin in the woods just for that. Wait, that meant that the Senator's brother had been a serial killer? Roxas wondered what the press would do with that. Did the Senator know?

"There's some things you need to sign." Roxas heard a click and realized the Senator had been carrying a briefcase. There was a shuffling of papers before he heard Axel's voice again.

"Should I bother trying to read them?" Axel sounded amused, and Luxord laughed.

"Not unless you want to bore yourself to death. I can give you the high points." Roxas quickly became lost as Luxord gave Axel the details of several business transactions. Axel seemed to understand most of it and even asked a few questions. Then suddenly things took a personal turn.

"Axel, you're wasting your life out here." Luxord said, his voice serious. There was a brief pause before Axel replied, and Roxas desperately wished he could see them. But there was no safe way to watch them in the kitchen.

"I don't have much choice, now do I?" Axel sounded almost angry.

"Pfah! My brother had no right to make his will like that. These kinds of trusts are meant for adult children. I've gotten to know you better since he died, and you're not mentally deficient. You even seem normal, considering. Do you really think I wouldn't take care of you?" Luxord demanded and Axel sighed.

"Uncle… I'm sorry, but I just don't trust you that far. Astrid is too important to me. And you _knew._" Roxas swallowed, wondering exactly what Luxord had known. Surely not everything.

"You know why I didn't say anything." Luxord sounded pained, and Axel sighed.

"I know, and I don't really blame you for it." Axel sounded drained, now, as if it was just too much to talk about. "But I don't give you any credit for it either. Don't worry, this can't last much longer. As soon as Astrid is gone, I'll go my own way."

"I suppose that will have to do." Luxord didn't give Axel any false reassurances that Astrid was going to be fine. He knew better. "But don't just vanish on me, please, or do anything rash. I'll be here for you."

"I'll try." Roxas frowned, wondering what Luxord thought Axel might do. They talked for a while longer about the Senator's family. From a few things they mentioned, Roxas gathered that the Senator had taken his wife and children to visit Axel for a few weeks in the summer and Axel seemed to remember the visit fondly. Eventually Luxord said his goodbyes. When he heard the helicopter lifting off, Roxas came back out of the bedroom.

"Your uncle is the Senator?" Roxas couldn't help but sound shocked. Axel grinned sadly, leaning against a wall.

"Yeah. Axel Beaumarch, at your service." Axel shrugged. "I guess I'm graphic proof that money does not buy happiness." Roxas frowned at the redhead.

"What did you mean when you said he knew?" Roxas said in as neutral a tone as he could manage, and Axel hesitated a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Okay. This is pretty much the last skeleton in the closet. C'mon, lets get some tea." Axel led him back to the kitchen and started brewing the tea as he talked. "Want chamomile?"

"Please." That was Roxas' favorite flavor. Axel made some earl grey for himself, bringing out the two mugs and sitting down, taking a sip of his tea before speaking.

"It's like this… Luxord is actually a really nice guy, for a politician." Axel sighed, looking into his tea. "I wish I'd been his kid. He's got a great family. But my dad could fuck anything up. Basically, dad wanted something from Luxord. I don't know what, I was just fourteen at the time, but whatever it was Luxord wasn't going to give it to him. So dad found a way to make him." Roxas blinked at that and frowned, sipping his tea. "He brought me and Astrid out of the cabin and tricked Lux into coming to a party to meet us. He…" Axel swallowed before taking another sip of his tea. "Drugged Luxord and gave us both instructions on what to do. And then he videotaped it."

"Ewwww." Roxas winced at the thought. "And then he blackmailed your uncle?" He could imagine what a video like that would do to any politician. Not only that, but Luxord had probably been married then. The personal results would have been devastating.

"Exactly. So Luxord knew we were being molested but he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't know anything about the rest of what dad was doing." Axel sighed. "I don't blame him. The way dad had us act and the way he edited the video looked really bad. I burned that thing right after he died, but that doesn't mean I trust my uncle. Astrid is just too important."

"I see." And Roxas did see. It was sad, though. Just from the brief moments he'd observed, Luxord looked like a decent man. "So that's definitely the last skeleton in the closet?" Axel smiled sadly.

"Yeah, that's it. Oh, there is one thing." Roxas looked at him expectantly and Axel grinned. "Did you know Christmas is next week?"

"What? It's been that long?" Roxas was started, then scowled. "I can't get you anything." That was annoying. He'd really like to get Axel something, but Axel did all the online ordering and buying, so there was no way for him to surprise the redhead. Axel laughed.

"Don't worry about it! But I was thinking that we could go out together, chop down a tree and bring it back to decorate. There's a whole box of decorations in one of the extra rooms." Axel wasn't sure which one, it had been years since he'd used them. But they wouldn't be hard to find. Roxas brightened at the thought.

"That would be great! Sora and I would decorate a tree every year." That suddenly made him feel homesick, and he suddenly wished he had spoken up to Luxord. Had he made a mistake? But looking at Axel, he couldn't believe that. Axel was smiling at him so happily as he drank his tea, and Roxas felt his worries slipping away. He missed Sora, but he couldn't regret being here with Axel.

"Neat. We can make some decorations, too. We can do the popcorn cranberry thing." Roxas blinked, wondering what he was talking about, and Axel cheerfully explained. "You take a needle and thread and string along popcorn and cranberries. Dad wasn't into Christmas but he let Astrid and me set up a tree, so we used those as garlands. Want to go find the ornaments when we're done our tea?"

"Sure." Soon they were rooting through old boxes, looking for the right one. The boxes in the storage room had an odd variety of stuff, ranging from a hand crank radio to old Ghost Rider comics. "I think this is it?" Roxas had found a box that tinkled a bit when he opened it. Axel peered over his shoulder and grinned.

"That's it! Now all we need to do is get a tree." They hauled the box out to the living room, and Roxas looked through the ornaments curiously for a moment. They were a mixture of fragile and beautiful and homemade. There were a lot of play-doh ornaments that looked ancient and sloppy, as though they had been made by children. Roxas blinked as he realized they probably had been. There were also some carved wooden ornaments that had been painted, and Roxas thought they looked like something Axel might have done. He knew Axel could carve, although he claimed his efforts weren't very good. There were also some newer ornaments, including a box that had the Swarovski label on it. Roxas opened it to reveal a beautiful crystal star and Axel smiled. "That one's my favorite. Astrid got it for me, our first Christmas after dad died."

"Ah." That made sense. The older ornaments were from their childhood, and the newer ones were what they had bought since their father's death had freed them. Roxas closed the box. "Well, lets get that tree." Axel had found a saw, so they were ready to go.

They spent a fair amount of time in the woods, picking out just the right tree to take back. Finally they went for an adorably misshapen specimen that brought back memories for Roxas. One year his family had been very short on money, so they'd deliberately found the ugliest tree on the lot and bargained the place into giving them half off. It had looked a lot like this tree, and Roxas smiled as he helped decorate the tree. They spent the evening getting it ready and making the popcorn and cranberry garlands, although at least half the popcorn ended up getting eaten instead. Then they put on an old movie, Miracle on 34'th Street, and cuddled up as they watched.

It was a very good night.

* * *

_Merry Christmas Sora! Merry Christmas Mom! And a happy New Year!_

_I know you'll be getting this a little late, but he couldn't send a letter until after New Years. I had a great time this year, although I wish you both had been there. It started with a massive snowball fight. There were snowballs everywhere! Finally he tackled me into a tree and all the snow in the branches landed on us! It was great. Then we went inside and had some drinking chocolate. It's amazing stuff, it's like hot chocolate only real chocolate bits and it's delicious. It's not even that expensive either if you buy it off eBay, although the shipping is a bitch. We need to get some when I get home. The dulce de leche flavor is amazing._

_Uh, where was I? Oh right! We had hot chocolate and played rummy for a while, then watched a Christmas movie marathon. I wish I could have gotten him something, but he says it doesn't matter, my being there was the best gift he could have. Kinda sweet, huh? He got me a necklace. I don't know what it's made out of and he won't say, he just looks embarrassed, but I have a sneaking suspicion its platinum. It looks like silver but I'm sure it's not. He's reading over my shoulder again and blushing. Hah! I'm sure I'm right._

_Oh, supper was amazing too. Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, the works. We're going to have leftovers for a week but that's cool. I wish you guys could write me back to tell me how Christmas has been for you. Gosh, I miss you Sora. I miss you too Mom. Tell Riku hi from me._

_Loves and kisses,_

_-Roxas_

* * *

"Hey Roxas, check this out." Roxas looked over from where he was writing down the score. He was teaching Axel to play pool, and Axel was already starting to get good at it although he cheerfully admitted to not understanding how the scoring worked.

_WHAM!_ Roxas flinched as Axel hit the ball far, far too hard. It sailed through the air and embedded itself in the wall.

"Woo hoo! Spider is toast! How many points do I get for nailing a spider? I have to get something for that!" Roxas laughed as Axel tried to poke the ball out of the wall with the tip of the pool cue.

"I think you lose points for killing the ball." Axel managed to get it off, examining the smashed spider on one side. "Eww, well, gross. You get to clean that off."

"Sure thing." Axel went to the bathroom to wash the ball off and came back a moment later. "So, who's winning?"

"I am." Roxas was winning handily, in fact. Axel looked a bit confused, but shrugged good-naturedly. He didn't understand the game but he didn't really care either. It was fun just playing with Roxas. It was like the blonde was all he needed to be happy, and Axel vaguely wondered what he would do when Roxas was gone. But he suppressed the thought firmly, concentrating on living in the moment.

The future would have to take care of itself.


	10. Face the Music

The seasons gradually changed, and as the time passed the connection Roxas felt with Axel only seemed to get deeper. He was sure the redhead felt the same way. The gentle way they touched, the way Axel looked at him sometimes, his green eyes warm and intense, the way they made love… everything was wonderful.

Unfortunately, nothing could last forever. Roxas had been uneasily aware for weeks that Astrid wasn't doing well at all. Axel would come back from his morning meetings with his twin looking sad and drained, but wouldn't say why. He didn't need to. They both knew.

Roxas looked out the window, pleased to see the snow was melting and the crocuses were starting to peek out. The weather had turned, and it would officially be spring soon. Then he smiled as he felt warm arms around him, and blinked as he felt a drop of water hit his shoulder.

"Axel?" Roxas turned and paled as he realized Axel was quietly crying. He hugged the redhead tightly as Axel tried to speak.

"Astrid… she…" Axel sobbed harshly for a moment before managing to get himself under control. "She died last night." Axel dissolved into tears as Roxas tried to comfort him.

"It's okay Axel, shh… I'm here for you…" Roxas murmured in his ear, running his hands through beautiful red spikes. He guided the redhead back to the bed, just holding him close and comforting him.

"Have to take you back to your family." Axel mumbled, eyes tightly closed as he pressed his face against Roxas' chest. Roxas swallowed, feeling like his heart was seizing. Yes, he wanted to see his family, but not at the cost of losing Axel. And certainly not like this.

"Not right now." Roxas said soothingly, and Axel sniffed, nodding.

"No… can't pilot a helicopter like this…" Axel knew he was far too upset for anything that important. He felt like the light was being ripped out of his heart. The only thing he had to ground him right now was Roxas. The blond seemed to understand that, cuddling him close.

"It's okay Axel. Take as long as you need, I'll be here for you." Roxas bit his lip, then decided to think about it later. Right now Axel needed comfort. The redhead seemed to feel the same way because he nodded, relaxing into Roxas' arms.

"Thanks Roxas." Axel refused to think about losing his lover, and just concentrated on the moment. The moment was all he had.

It was several days before Axel felt he was recovered enough to safely pilot the helicopter. Roxas couldn't help but think of the future, but it made him feel helpless. If Axel went with him he was going to be arrested. Even if Roxas didn't cooperate the police would still press charges, and for good reason. How could they stay together? Roxas didn't want to give up his family.

"Axel…" Roxas hesitated before boarding the helicopter as Axel looked down at him questioningly. The redhead was already behind the controls. Roxas finally shook his head and climbed aboard. Axel took a deep breath, then started the engines.

"It's going to take us about three hours to reach the landing pad in your town. There's a barf bag in the overhead if you need it." Roxas blinked, momentarily diverted from his feelings.

"My town has a landing pad?" He wasn't aware of that. Axel nodded.

"I'm not the only person with a cabin in the woods, most towns have some area for helicopters." It didn't take much space for a helicopter to land, just a flat field really. Roxas looked out the window as the helicopter lifted off. It was the first time he'd ever taken a ride in a helicopter… well, conscious anyway… and he was fascinated to see how the scenery spread out below them. The forest was amazingly beautiful from overhead, a great canopy of green. But not even the majesty of nature could completely take his mind off the situation. How could he just let Axel go?

There was no conversation during the flight. Roxas couldn't think of anything to say, and Axel seemed to feel the same. Roxas vaguely wished he had brought something to distract himself with. Axel at least had the helicopter controls to concentrate on. The scenery below, though, started to gradually change. They began passing over roads, houses, signs of civilization. They even passed over a small village, and Roxas thought he recognized it. They were getting close. He swallowed hard as the helicopter came in for a landing. Axel deposited the machine with the ease of long practice and hopped out, going to the other side to help him down. Roxas blushed, but didn't refuse his hand.

"C'mon, I think there's an ATM at the café over there." Roxas nodded. He knew there was, although he was already worried about Axel. This was a small town, someone might recognize him and call the police before the redhead could leave. Fortunately, the café was almost empty and no one even glanced over when they went right to the ATM. "Here… it's all I can give you to make up for all this." Axel handed him a wad of bills, and Roxas shook his head.

"The money doesn't matter Axel." He only really needed enough to call a taxi to take him home. Roxas looked up at the taller man, feeling very worried as well as in pain. "Axel, are you going to be alright?" Axel smiled, and it was so beautiful Roxas felt like his heart might break.

"I'll be fine Roxas." Roxas frowned up at the redhead, seeing a strange peace in his green eyes. And it worried him more than tears, although he couldn't have said why. Axel lowered his head, catching Roxas' lips for a long, lingering kiss. Then Axel stepped back, smiling sadly, and turned to walk away.

Roxas watched him go for a moment, then followed him out of the café and into the street. Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong. But what? Besides the whole situation. Snippets of conversation suddenly came back to him.

"_You're that sure they wouldn't catch you?"_

"_No, just confident it wouldn't matter."_

"_Don't just vanish on me, please, or do anything rash."_

"_It would be a perfect branch to hang myself from."_

Roxas gasped as a sudden, icy certainty touched his heart. "Axel!" Roxas ran after him, hugging the surprised redhead from behind and stopping him in his tracks. "Don't! Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it." He looked up, catching the flash of something like guilt in green eyes. "You're going to kill yourself, aren't you?" Axel was silent, just looking away, and Roxas knew he was right. "Axel, you can't! I love you."

"Roxy." Axel looked back, his voice husky and eyes bright with unshed tears. "I-I love you too. I love you so much, but it's impossible. If I stay I'll go to jail and we won't be together a-anyway." Roxas glared up at him, his blue eyes misty with his own held back tears.

"Then go to jail! I'll bring you a-a cake with a file in it! But you can't die, you just can't." Roxas gripped Axel's hair and pulled the redhead into a deep, painful kiss. Axel hugged the smaller blond tightly, running a hand through spiky golden hair. "Don't go. Please, don't go." Roxas sounded close to tears, and Axel shuddered as he felt something in himself breaking.

"I'll stay." Axel had never really considered going to jail as an option, but… why not, really? Roxas could visit him. He'd get out eventually, maybe sooner rather than later. Kidnapping was serious but Roxas was unhurt, and he had information about his father the police would dearly love to have. Surely that would be good for something? Axel decided not to think about it. His knowledge of the law came from episodes of CSI and Law and Order. Roxas hugged him even more tightly for a moment, then let go, sniffing and rubbing his eyes.

"C'mon, I'll call Sora and see what we should do." Axel nodded, following Roxas to a payphone. "Got any coins?"

"Uh, yeah." Axel fished out some change, passing it to the blond, and he quickly placed a call to Sora's cell.

"Come on Sora, pick up the phone." Roxas muttered as it rang and rang. But finally there was a click.

"Hello?" Sora sounded his usual self, chirpy and bright and Roxas felt his heart melting a bit. It was so good to hear his brother again.

"Hey Sora." Roxas grinned at the dead silence on the other end, then had to move the receiver away from his ear as Sora shrieked.

"OHMYGOD Roxas! Where have you been! Are you okay? He really let you go? Where are you?" Roxas listened patiently for a little longer as Sora ran on, then finally cut in.

"Sora, you're babbling! Get it together." He ordered, but couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice. "I'm in front of the café on main street. Um, this is going to sound a little weird but he's with me. Is there some safe place to meet? I mean, I don't want mom to come after him with a butcher knife. Oh, his name is Axel." There was no point in keeping things secret now.

"The Axel you met at the bar? Uh, mom kicked me out actually although she let me come home for Christmas dinner." Roxas blinked at that. "She actually said I could come back home last week, but I decided to stay with Riku. Come over to his apartment, I'll meet you there!"

"No problem. Actually, we can just walk, we should be there in about a half hour." It wasn't that far to walk. "See you there Sora."

"See you Roxas! Oh god I'm so glad you're okay!" The line went dead and Roxas grinned, imagining Sora running all the way home. It was especially amusing because he was sure the brunette was.

"You'll like Sora," Roxas said to Axel as they walked. "He's such a total ray of sunshine." Axel smiled, a touch sadly, and Roxas was reminded that he'd just lost his twin sister.

"He sounds great. I can't wait to meet him." Axel had already gotten a good picture of Sora from talking to Roxas, and the brunette did sound sweet. Riku apparently had a lot more rough edges, but Axel was looking forward to meeting him too. Although he didn't expect any of them to like him. That would have been a ridiculous hope, given that he'd kidnapped Roxas and held him for over half a year. They walked quickly to Riku's apartment, and Axel glanced around curiously as he walked. He hadn't seen much of the town last time he'd been there. In general the place seemed a little run down, a little tired, but still very charming. He wouldn't have minded living there. Maybe he would get a chance, after he'd served his time. Although… Axel bit his lip, thinking. A town this size wouldn't have a real jail, the kind he was likely going to. That would make seeing Roxas hard.

Roxas knocked on the door to Riku's apartment and had barely lifted his hand when the door flew open and he was glomped by a very enthusiastic Sora. Axel blinked, a bit amazed by how similar the brothers looked. Then Sora stared at him warily and tried to pull Roxas behind him.

"Sora!" Roxas pulled away, happy but a touch irritated at his twins protectiveness. "It's okay, really. Is Riku home?"

"Not yet." Sora wasn't about to be distracted, though. He pulled them both inside, slammed the door then went right up to Axel, poking him in the chest. "How could you do that! We've been worried sick about Roxas! We thought he was dead for weeks! Months!" Axel was a bit taken aback. Being remonstrated by Sora was a bit like being gnawed on by a rabid bunny rabbit. Very odd but not really something to be taken lightly.

"I'm sorry." Axel said humbly as he looked into furious blue eyes. "I know it was wrong, I knew it at the time and I did it anyway." Axel shrugged, feeling oddly helpless as Sora scowled at him. "Sorry?" He didn't really know what else to say.

"Sora, leave him alone!" Roxas growled, yanking his brother back and making Sora glare at him. But then Sora melted, giving Roxas another tight hug. Roxas smiled and hugged him back as the door opened.

"Sora, I got your call-ah!" Riku was startled to see Roxas and could easily figure out who Axel must be. Aquamarine eyes traveled up and down Axel for a moment before Riku grinned. "I see what you meant about him being good looking."

"Riku!" Sora was appalled at his boyfriend, punching him in the arm as Roxas blushed and Axel grinned. "That is totally not appropriate!"

"We've got Roxas and his kidnapper in our apartment, Sora. I don't think there's etiquette for this sort of thing." Riku pointed out, them sobered. "Sora, I'm sorry. Your mom has already called the cops." Axel swallowed and Roxas moved over to him, taking Axel's hand. "I was at her place fixing the screens and she heard the call… I'm sorry." Riku didn't really blame Roxas' mom at all. Calling the police was the logical thing to do.

"It's okay." Axel said huskily. "I was going to hand myself in anyway." Roxas caught the fear in his voice, though, and winced. Axel had no experience with jail at all and he was afraid. Roxas turned to hug the redhead, wishing desperately that things didn't have to be this way. But it was too late now. "Wish me luck, Roxas."

"I'll wait for you." He promised, and he would. He would wait for Axel as long as necessary. Axel smiled, gently cupping his cheek with one hand and lowering his face for-

"Freeze!" The barked command made Axel wince and pull away from Roxas, lifting his hands into the air. It was the first time he'd ever been arrested, and it was pretty much what he'd expected. Axel let them handcuff him and patiently listened as he was read his rights.

"I understand." He glanced over to where Roxas was being held back by Sora and Riku. He was clearly finding it very hard to just watch. "Remember to send me a cake with a file in, Roxas." Axel managed a smile as he was pulled out of the room, but couldn't quite keep the fear out of his eyes. What was jail going to be like?

He would just have to see. Axel comforted himself with the thought that it couldn't possibly be worse than what he'd lived with most of his life.


	11. Fin

Author's Note: I do a lot of research for my fics, so most of this should have some semblance of reality. I'm marking this as complete although there might be an epilogue if I decide to write one. ^_^ Enjoy!

"How do I contact a Senator?" Roxas was feeling more than a bit stymied as he searched the internet. The only options he was finding so far were e-mail, and that just wasn't going to cut it. "Ugh, I should have asked Axel!" But the police weren't letting him anywhere near him.

It had been a day since he'd gotten home, and everyone was still making a tremendous fuss but Roxas could only think of a certain redhead. And he'd drawn everyone into his quest to contact Senator Luxord. Even his mom was helping, although she had already mentioned that she thought he was insane. But having him home safe and sound was making her more forgiving towards Axel.

"Roxas!" Roxas looked up as she walked over, holding a magazine and smiling. "There's a contact number here for the Senator's staff. I don't know if it's still active, but it's probably worth a try." She handed him the magazine and Roxas scanned it, then nodded with a smile.

"Thanks mom." She smiled again, dimples peeking out, and Roxas was very glad that Sora had been the one to weather her disappointment in both her sons being gay. She seemed to be completely over it now, but Sora and Riku had both been able to tell him a few stories.

It wasn't easy reaching someone on the Senator's staff. The number in the magazine was for an answering service, as it turned out, but Roxas finally managed to reach a live person. After getting passed around several times he was just about ready to scream when he finally reached someone who seemed competent.

"Andrew Kraul speaking." A hard, clipped voice answered the phone this time and Roxas swallowed before speaking.

"Hello. I'm Roxas Sturm. You might have heard of me, I was kidnapped?" The hard voice confirmed that he had, and Roxas went on. "I have some urgent information for Senator Luxord. His nephew Axel is in jail for kidnapping me. He was just arrested yesterday." There was a brief, surprised pause at the other end before Andrew spoke again.

"I see. I will have to confirm that… what jail is he being kept at?" Roxas couldn't tell from his tone if the man believed him or not, but he carefully repeated the information as Roxas gave it. "Is there a good number to reach you at?" Roxas gave that as well. "Thank you. I will investigate this and you might receive a call shortly."

"Thank you." Roxas said, feeling rather relieved as the line went dead. Andrew Kraul didn't sound like a friendly sort, but he did sound like someone who would do his job and do it well. Roxas quickly found out he was entirely right about that. It wasn't more than ten minutes before the phone rang again.

"Hello?" He answered, and almost sighed in relief as he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"Roxas Strum? This is Senator Luxord. What's all this about my nephew? Andrew says he contacted the jail and he's definitely been arrested!" Roxas found himself explaining the whole situation again, to Luxord's disbelief. "You were there the whole time we were talking? Good lord! Drat that boy." Roxas couldn't help but grin, Luxord sounded so vexed. "Why didn't he tell me? I'd have hired someone! Bought him a dog, a cat, a bloody ferret!"

"Axel said he doesn't like pets much." Roxas said, and heard Luxord sigh.

"I know, and I'd rather not know why. Well, I'm flying over with my lawyer. Thank you for letting me know about this. We'll do all we can, although there's no way he'll get off completely." Roxas winced, but really, he had already known that.

"Can you see if the police will let me see him?" Roxas wanted desperately to talk to Axel, although he didn't think it would happen. He was the victim of the crime, after all.

"I'll try, but that's not very likely. I'll call you as soon as I know what's happening." Roxas had to be content with that. At least Axel would have a lawyer now. Innocent or guilty, that was important.

Axel was busy at that moment discovering that jail was both boring and slightly uncomfortable. He'd been mildly terrified when he arrived, but after sleeping far too long on a very thin bed behind boring bars, he was wishing desperately for a book. The only marginally interesting thing that had happened was the police bringing in a drunk woman to sleep it off. She had quickly gotten annoying with her crying and mumbling, but fortunately she'd eventually fallen asleep.

"Hey." Axel opened his eyes, surprised, and saw a police officer opening his cell door. "Your lawyer is here."

"I have a lawyer?" Axel was startled by that. He'd assumed he would get a public defender, or maybe his trust fund would pick up the costs, but whatever happened he hadn't anticipated it happening so quickly. The police officer shrugged as Axel stood.

"Apparently." Axel shrugged right back and went where he was directed. He was brought into a room with a table and a couple chairs, and stared as he saw who was waiting for him.

"Uncle Lux? Marly?" Axel said, slightly overwhelmed as he saw Luxord and Marluxia, his personal lawyer. "Wha… how did you find out what was happening so quickly?" The police hadn't made any statements yet, so the press only knew Roxas had arrived home and the police had made an arrest. Axel's name hadn't hit the papers yet, although he knew that would change soon.

"Roxas managed to get in touch with my staff. He was very determined." Luxord said dryly, and Axel smiled, feeling his heart warming at the thought. "I always wondered how you could stand to live in that cabin all year round. Now I see you couldn't. Why didn't you say something to me?" Axel winced. He'd considered it, but…

"I could take care of myself, Uncle. And I guess I just didn't want to admit that I couldn't take it anymore." Axel rubbed his forehead with one hand for a moment. "I know it's stupid, you don't have to tell me."

"Yet, we're going to anyway." Marluxia said with a thin smile, leaning forward. "Now, tell us everything that has happened. I need to know how bad the damage is." Axel sighed, and gave them the whole story. It took a while, but Marluxia nodded at the end. "Exactly as Roxas described it."

"Except for one part." Axel tapped his fingers against the table, wishing for a cigarette. He didn't smoke except when he was at a bar or very nervous, but he was nervous now. "I was hoping I could make a plea bargain. I've got some info that the police would like. But Luxord, it'll really screw up your getting reelected."

"More than my nephew being arrested for kidnapping? Do tell." Luxord sounded amused, and Axel knew he was completely clueless, really. Despite knowing that his brother had been a complete pervert Luxord had no idea how far it went.

"Dad was a serial killer." Axel stated the truth simply. "I know where he put the bodies and I have his collection of video tapes." Luxord went deathly pale as Marluxia stared.

"What?!? You're joking! He couldn't have…" Luxord trailed off, going even paler as he realized that it was really just a logical progression from what he already knew his brother had done. "My god. He did? How many?"

"I dunno, exactly. He started before I was there and he didn't tape everything." Axel swallowed, and Marluxia pushed a glass of water over to him. "Thanks. But from the tapes, at least a dozen. That was how many crosses Astrid and I put up, after he died." Luxord rubbed his forehead, looking like he was getting a migraine. Axel felt rather sorry for him. He'd had a lot of crap dumped on him all at once. Marluxia just looked cool and thoughtful.

"Tell me everything, Axel. From the beginning." Marluxia glanced at Luxord. "Luxord, feel free to go outside if this is too disturbing." Marluxia needed to know all the skeletons so he could barter effectively, but it didn't mean Luxord had to know. Luxord hesitated, then nodded.

"I'll wait outside." He could get Marluxia to give him a rundown later, and it was painful to find this out about his brother. He'd hated the man, but still, it was a shock. Axel sighed, and prepared himself to tell his story again.

He hoped it would be the last time, but he rather doubted it.

* * *

As all the revelations came out, Roxas found himself hounded by the media. He got very expert at avoiding them, but it wasn't easy. With Axel's information, the police immediately started excavating the graveyard. And not just that, but the rest of the property as well. It turned out that there had been plenty of things Axel didn't know, probably because his father had started his activities before the twins had even been born. In the end, almost forty bodies were found on the property. Most would go unidentified forever, but the ones in the tapes were mostly found. Many families finally found out where a loved one had vanished to.

Finally, Roxas was allowed to see Axel. Under close monitoring to make sure Axel wasn't trying to intimidate him in any way, but Roxas didn't care. He just wanted to see the redhead again.

"Axel!" Axel laughed as Roxas hugged him tightly, and hugged the blonde back. "How have you been? I've been so worried about you."

"I've been fine, just really bored." Axel ruffled Roxas' spiky hair fondly, smiling. "How have you been doing? I hope the press hasn't been bugging you too much." Roxas made a face.

"They're pests. Axel, what's happening with your plea bargain?" Roxas knew Axel was making a plea bargain, the newspapers had reported it along with all the details about his dad.

"Not bad at all, actually. They've offered me a year in a minimum security prison. That's the lowest sentence for second degree kidnapping." Axel was actually rather pleased with the deal, although he wasn't looking forward to even a year in minimum security. On the other hand, he was relatively sure it wouldn't be too bad. Luxord has assured him it was a lot like a college dorm, although Axel had never been exposed to that either. He anticipated that losing his privacy was going to be a shock. Roxas looked crushed, though, and Axel hastened to comfort him. "That's really good Roxas. I might get out early with good behavior, and there's a minimum security prison in Fairbanks. That's only a couple hours drive away." If Roxas wanted, he'd be able to visit Axel fairly easily. It was a long trip, but not impossible by any means.

"I was hoping you might get false imprisonment." Roxas had been reading up on kidnapping a bit and it was a touch confusing, but he knew now that there was first degree kidnapping, second degree and things like false imprisonment, which was a misdemeanor. Axel smiled and shook his head.

"Marly tried, but they weren't willing to go that far. That's supposed to be for when, oh, you stop someone from leaving your house during a fight. Not half a year." Roxas had been with Axel far too long for that. "Don't worry Roxas, I'm going to be fine." Axel was feeling a bit upbeat about it now. Marluxia had given him what sounded like a very good rendition of the conditions in minimum security, and it didn't sound bad at all. Although he would have to see to be sure. Roxas sighed and nodded, then hugged him again.

"I love you Axel." He said, burying his face against the redhead's chest, and Axel hugged him back, gently pressing a kiss against his forehead.

"I love you too." A year of separation would be painful, but they could endure it. And then they would be free.

* * *

_Roxas,_

_I'm in prison. Yay! Heh. I couldn't believe it, there's no internet here. I mean, dang, get with the 20'th century amiright? This letter might reach you after you've visited me, but c'est le vie._

_So, this is interesting. I've got a case manager. He's pretty cool, he got me a work assignment with the kitchen. So I'm cooking a lot! Heh, I wish I could do a Jamie Oliver and revolutionize the prison system to give the inmates good, fresh food. Alas, that's not going to happen. I imagine this is what being a line cook at Appleby's feels like. But hey, that's valuable work experience I guess._

_This place is pretty relaxed. I can go outside almost any time I want, I could even just walk away, there's no barbed wire fence or anything. Of course, I'd be a complete dumbass to do that. Most of the people in here are like me, sentences of a year or two and hoping to get out early on good behavior. So not much worrying about prison sex, heh. It's a huge relief._

_My case manager is insisting I get a GED. He was pretty shocked to find out I haven't been educated since ten. Anyway, I figure the math will help me open my bakery and he says it'll help me get early parole, so I'm working hard at it. Did you know prison offers all kinds of courses for this sort of thing? I sure didn't._

_This place has plenty of books, and there's TV's in the cells. Although my cell mate likes football and I like the food network so, yeah, that's not working out too well. I mostly give up and read a book, except when Ace of Cakes is on. He's agreed to give me an hour on Thursday. Man, my cell mate. He's the one real problem I'm having here. He's an okay guy but… Roxas, he farts. All. The. Time. And they're stinkers. It's not the food, no one else does that. If I die overnight it's all his fault._

_How's everything going for you? I hope the press still aren't bothering you. How's your mom taking everything? Write me back, I'm sure I'll see you before I get it but either way, I can't wait to hear from you! I miss you so much._

_Tons of love,_

_Axel_

* * *

_Axel,_

_I'm glad to hear that prison isn't treating you badly. Mom's car is terrible so can you believe it, Luxord got us a new car to go see you? I can see why you didn't want to take things from him, actually, it's a bit embarrassing isn't it? But it would be a lot worse to have a break down an hour from Fairbanks. We'll be coming down next weekend to see you. Mom plans to drive and go shopping all weekend, heh._

_Speaking of mom, we have a bit of a problem. She says she was content not to mention it when she thought we were straight and going to find girlfriends and get married someday, but now she's asked us if we're planning to adopt or what, because she really wants to be a grandma someday. You should have seen the look on Sora's face! But I was probably just as bad. I told her that I only like kids with hot sauce, but how do you feel about that? Actually, you can just tell me when I visit. I know I'll get there before a letter from you can get back._

_I miss you so much. I keep telling myself that it's just a year and we can be together again, but it feels like forever. Are you still thinking of opening a bakery? I've been checking around the town and there really aren't any private bakeries, maybe we could make it a success. I bet Luxord would spot you enough to start it up. Although he said something about getting your trust fund dissolved, I'm not sure what that means._

_The press aren't bothering us too much anymore, although you wouldn't believe it, I've been approached by a guy who wants to make this into a movie! I told him I'd have to discuss it with you first. I have to admit it would make a cool movie but… me? In a movie? My mind is blown. I don't know what to think. I should be down there in a couple days to see you and I can't wait. I love you Axel._

_-Roxas_

* * *

In the end, Axel only had to serve seven months of his sentence. After finishing his GED, he was allowed out early on good behavior, on probation. He and Roxas got their own apartment, mainly because it was just too embarrassing having sex in the same home as Roxas' mother. It turned out that Luxord was trying to get the trust fund removed so Axel could have full control over his share of the family fortune, but that was proving to be a little difficult. So Luxord had lent Axel enough money to start the bakery. Axel had insisted that it be a loan, and if he lost the trust fund he could pay it back.

Several months later, the bakery was set to open. Sora, Riku and Roxas all let themselves in the back door and gaped at the display in front of them.

"Axel! My god, how many cupcakes did you MAKE?" Roxas sputtered as Axel grinned. It looked like every available surface was covered in cupcakes. Chocolate, vanilla and a good assortment of other flavors with a rainbow of icing. Axel looked exhausted but happy.

"I dunno, a couple thousand?" Sora goggled at him as Riku sidled over to a rack of chocolate and helped himself to one with bright red icing. "Hey there! One cupcake each you guys. I also made a dozen cakes too and a bunch of squares."

"Axel, are you sure all this is going to sell?" Roxas had a dreadful image of all of them trying to eat the cupcakes before they went bad. Although Riku would probably love that. Axel grinned, and Roxas blinked as he realized the redhead had icing smeared on his cheek again. Roxas stepped forward, gripping his collar and pulling him down to slowly lick it off. Axel's eyes widened as Riku spoke up.

"That looks sexy, Roxas, but you don't have anywhere to do it." Roxas blushed and pulled back, giving the silver hair a glower as he shrugged. "Just saying. Roxas has a point though Axel, you're sure this is going to sell?" Axel grinned again, amused.

"Well, Riku, I figure this can go two ways. Either everyone in the town is going to come to gawk at me, or no one will come. Which way do you think it will go?" Axel said teasingly, and Riku didn't have to think twice.

"Everyone's going to come. Good point." The amazing story of kidnapping, the Senator's nephew and love in the mountains still had everyone agog. Not to mention that new stores opened very rarely in a town this small, and cupcakes were cheap. "I wonder if you'll sell out?" Riku wouldn't have been surprised. "Damn, this is a good cupcake." It was moist and super sweet, exactly the way a cupcake should be.

"That's my red velvet flavor." Sora looked interested and grabbed a vanilla looking cupcake with coconut sprinkles on top. "That's coconut. There's also, hmm, maple walnut, key lime, orange chocolate, pistachio and strawberry vanilla." Axel started moving cupcakes out to set up the displays, and Riku blinked at the cakes that were ready for sale. Most were simple butter-cream cakes, but there was one that had been fondanted and looked just like a birthday gift, complete with bow and little patterns air brushed onto the fondant wrapping.

As it turned out, Axel was right. The bakery was a smashing success on it's first day, and by the end of it Roxas and Axel were exhausted. They were running the place jointly, and both of them manned the two cash registers as a crowd started to build. They didn't quite sell out, but only because Axel had made so many cupcakes. By the end, there was only maybe a dozen left.

"Wow, that was amazing." Axel marveled as Roxas boxed up the remaining cupcakes to bring to his mom. The blonde looked up with a grin.

"And you get to do it all over again tomorrow!" Axel blinked, then laughed.

"Gee, thanks Roxas!" Axel smiled though as he started cleaning up the shop. It might involve getting up very early in the morning and working long hours, but he was going to love owning his own bakery, he could tell. Of course, it helped that Roxas was with him all day.

It was a good start to the rest of their lives.

_And unless I do write that epilogue…_

_~FIN~_


	12. Epilogue

_Over time, many interesting things would happen. Luxord managed to have Axel's trust dissolved, giving him full control of his finances. That was investments to the tune of several million dollars. With that money Axel and Roxas were able to buy a house and take the family on very nice vacations, but that was the only change it made in their lifestyle._

_The bakery turned out to be a stunning success, and it was eventually named The Sweet Spot. Things calmed down after the first week and Axel was able to sleep in a bit later and bake far less cupcakes, but the business was still booming. Axel managed to build a name for himself making excellent wedding and birthday cakes, and even began taking orders from Fairbanks and further. Although for further, he charged extra and flew the cakes in on his helicopter. Axel also expanded the business, hiring several employees to meet demand. Two of them worked out and became excellent cake decorators. The Sweet Spot would never be as good or successful as Charm City Cakes, but Axel didn't mind. He wasn't in that class. He did get invited once to a Food Network Challenge and didn't win, but that was fine too. It was enough to have been there. Roxas took online courses and eventually took over the bookkeeping and scheduling for the business. Axel wouldn't have known what to do without him._

_Riku and Sora both went to University together, and decided to stay there, coming home to visit for Christmas and holidays. Riku had a good career in network support and Sora became a librarian. They eventually adopted a baby girl from China and named her Mia. Their mother doted on her and Axel and Roxas spoiled her rotten every chance they got._

_Eventually, Roxas and Axel considered children, but Axel wanted to find an older child like himself. A child who just needed help to be successful in life. Roxas was unsure, since an older child could have plenty of problems, but he agreed to try…_

* * *

"This is a group home?" Roxas looked around curiously and Axel nodded.

"Hmm hmm." It wasn't a very nice place, but it wasn't terrible either. The building looked a little run down but still serviceable and children were playing outside, throwing balls into a hoop. Several of them stopped and stared as Axel and Roxas went inside, but most just continued with their game.

"?!?" Roxas stared, a bit taken aback as the woman who ran the group home smiled and shook Axel's hand. He hadn't expected someone so… fat. Blushing lightly at his own reaction, Roxas gingerly took a seat. She had dark brown hair and seemed friendly, despite her alarming size.

"I'm Sheri Patterson. You would be Axel and Roxas? So I'm told the two of you are interested in adopting one of our children? I assume you've already been through the paperwork?" From her tone she assumed no such thing, but Axel nodded and brought out the forms. He'd consulted with Marly on what was involved in this sort of thing and gotten everything in order.

"Yeah, we're good to go. But the issue is picking the right one for us." Axel wasn't sure if he wanted a boy or a girl or what. He just knew that for Roxas sake, he didn't want a child with severe problems. Not that he wanted to deal with severe problems either. Axel had gotten a bit of therapy for his own childhood and it had helped, but the therapist had been amazed at how sane and well grounded he was despite the trauma. Axel more wanted a child like that, who had gone through something but managed to come out the other side intact.

"I can introduce you to them. You don't have to decide today." Sheri stood with a grunt and led them out of the office. She took them to a larger room where children were doing homework at tables, as well as other things. Roxas followed her closely, but Axel found himself distracted by a child sitting in the window.

He wasn't a very attractive child, except for his hair. But his hair was truly unusual, an odd shade silver. Axel had never seen anything quite like it and wondered if it was natural. It fell over one eye, and Axel saw the boy was intently reading a book. He had bright blue eyes and looked far too thin, too small for the baggy clothing he was wearing. Axel hesitated, then wandered over.

"Hey. What you reading?" The boy shot him an annoyed look and lifted the book so he could see the cover. Axel smiled as he recognized it. "The Honor of the Queen. That's a good book, I love the Honor Harrington series. What's your name?" A shared interest in sci-fi might not be the best place to start, but you had to start somewhere. The boy looked a little startled.

"I'm Zexion." The boy was silent for a moment, then asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Axel. My partner and I are here to make an adoption." There was a flash of hostility in Zexion's eyes, and Axel lifted his eyebrows. "What, you don't want to get adopted?"

"No. I have a best friend here." There was a brief silence for a moment as Axel thought about that. He'd never thought of adopting two, but maybe… "Are you guys gay?"

"Yup. Does that bother you?" Axel asked, and Zexion looked thoughtful, then shrugged.

"Not really. I mean, it's kind of gross, but girls are gross too." Axel grinned, wondering how old Zexion was. He looked like he could be anywhere between seven and ten.

"How old are you, Zex? And how old's your friend?" Zexion frowned, a bit wary of all the questions, but answered.

"We're both eight. Why, you thinking of taking us?" Axel was about to answer when he was interrupted by Roxas.

"Axel, I like this kid named Demyx but he says he can't leave his best friend, a kid named Zexion." Axel grinned as Zexion blinked, taken aback, and then winced as Axel slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Then I think we're in luck Roxas! This one is Zexion." Axel made his decision quickly. Why overthink things? Usually, the first decision was the right one. Besides, it had to mean something that they each liked one half of the pair. "And he's cool. Let's adopt them both."

"Two?" Roxas was thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. "Why not?" Axel's enthusiasm was infectious and after a moment, he liked the idea. It would probably be good for the boys, having a friend around when they had to go to an entirely new school and make new friends. Zexion looked like he distrusted the whole thing, but the boy beside Roxas squeed. He was a blond child with blue eyes and it looked like he'd really hit it off with Roxas.

"Let's get the paperwork filled out." Axel smiled at Zexion again before going with Roxas and Sheri to get things officially going. They would be foster parents for a time before finalizing the adoption, which would give them a bit of time to back out if things really weren't working. But Axel didn't think that would happen.

It felt like fate.

* * *

_Things were not, of course, quite as easy as Axel thought they would be. Zexion in particular was more standoffish and distant, but that was partly why Axel had picked him. He reminded the redhead a little of Roxas. And Roxas found that Demyx's cheerful energy reminded him of Axel. But the adoption was finalized and both children relaxed a bit as they realized that these adults were not going to leave them. Roxas' mother was extremely pleased to have two children close by where she could really spoil them the way a grandmother should._

_And now, for the last time…_

_~FIN~_


End file.
